Feathers and Fangs
by NitnatRide
Summary: Cullens and The flock meet on Cullens' hunting trip. Bird-kids covered in dried blood that vampires can smell? Do I need to say more? The characters develop understandings, and friendships build. FAX of course. Bella is still human. Rated T just in case
1. Fight

**Feathers and Fangs**

**Chapter 1: Fight**

**Max's POV**

"Maaaax!" Nudge whined. "I'm hungry."

I resisted the urge to scowl at her, and instead glanced at Fang with a look that said 'There's a surprise'. He recognised the look and smirked at me. As in proper showing-his-teeth smiling! He had unnaturally straight teeth for a guy who was punched in the face almost on a daily basis. And white too. What did he drink, bleach? I looked away before I lost enough concentration that I dropped out of the sky.

"Alright, Nudge. Let's stop here then, guys."

Lovely spot to pick, Nudge. As we steadily descended, we could see plenty of forestry scaling mountains, probably the Olympic Peninsula, if my built-in compass was correct (which it always is). Almost smack-bang in the middle of it all, was a cute, but very small and basic-looking town. But I could see a restaurant, or the likes of one, and the mountains would give us a great place to camp-up for the night.

But the weather; had this place ever seen the sun before? The clouds looked thick and lingering, almost stubborn, and I was half expecting a booming voice to come from the sky saying, "We're not movin' nowhere!"

I spotted a clearing in the mass of trees, and pointed to it, signalling to the others we need to set down before we enter the town. They all understood, and tilted down, slowly circling towards the ground.

By the time we had finally walked through the forest to the town boundary, the younger kids were practically bouncing up and down at the thought of food. I glanced at the town's name board as we entered.

"Forks. You think there's a town somewhere nearby called 'Spoons'?"

Fang shoved me playfully but he was smiling again. I like making him smile; it means I get to see his smile more often.

_Never, Max,_ I told myself. _You're going goofy and stupid over him again. Snap out of it before I make you give Gazzy an excuse to slap you across the face._

I frowned at myself, but regained my composure before the others could notice. We found a small bar/restaurant, called 'The Lodge', and I checked the prices and our total cash before checking with the others. They all nodded, and we entered. There weren't many people in there, probably just the usual local customers, because some of the bar-tenders and waitresses looked at us a little surprised, as if they hadn't expected any new customers. The customers just kept enjoying their food or drink. I gotta say though, the food looked, and smelled amazing.

I placed our orders – double helpings of whichever order belonged to whoever – and, again, the servers seemed very shocked at the quantity of our order, but they did as we requested, and tried to put on a normal-looking smile as they said that our food will be out in up to half an hour.

I spotted the restrooms behind the bar, and told the others I would be back in a minute. I walked between the bar and the tables, but as I was walking past the last table, I caught the young girl's arm, who was just getting up from the booth, and the water from her glass went over the both of us. The girl, who looked about seventeen or eighteen, with dark chocolate brown hair, just below her shoulders, and pale white skin, put her hand to her mouth, shocked.

"I am so sorry, I didn't mean to. Oh, God, is anything stained?" she apologised sheepishly. I just laughed at her worry.

"It's alright, it's just water. And anyway it was my fault; I'm a bit distracted about something, and pretty tired and I wasn't paying enough attention."

"No, no, no, I didn't look before I got up. I –"

"Guys," the man sitting opposite the girl said. He was probably her father; they looked pretty much alike. "Just drop it otherwise we're all going to be here whilst you guys argue all night. Just go get another glass, Bella."

Both of us looked down at our feet, embarrassed, and I just smiled at her before walking off to the toilets.

**Bella's POV**

Once that girl I had bumped into went to sit back down, she smiled at me sheepishly as she passed, then went to sit with a few other kids. They all looked pretty scruffy, as if they've been camping for a few days and hadn't packed well. The youngest looked no more than seven years old, probably younger. The others of the gang were somewhere between seven and about fifteen. Yet they ate so much! The younger blonde boy ate like two steaks with an extra helping of fries. Not even Charlie can eat that much in one go! There's something funny about those kids; I hope they aren't going to pull out guns any second now. They just didn't seem to want to make eye-contact with anyone but members of their group. They seemed to keep to themselves. I asked Charlie if he could hurry with his food, explaining my fears. He looked at them over my shoulder, and nodded to me. We left as soon as we could.

Minutes after Charlie and I arrived back home, Edward knocked on the front door. I let him in, and Charlie greeted him with the usual warmth, then grunted something about a big game being on the flatscreen. Edward and I smiled at each other lovingly as soon as Charlie couldn't see us anymore, and we linked fingers as we ascended the stairs to my room. I closed the door quietly behind me, then turned around and wrapped my arms around Edward's neck, stretching up to kiss him. He grinned, then bent down to meet me half-way. I immediately relaxed when our lips touched, and I tried to make the kiss last, but Edward pulled away. Always too soon. He caught my annoyance and winked at me. I just rolled my eyes.

"Sorry we couldn't get home sooner; Charlie insisted that we went to The Lodge for dinner."

He shrugged. "That's fine. Did you enjoy your meal?"

I nodded. "It was really nice. Weird kids there though."

Edward raised his eyebrows, confused, but there was a teasing glint in them. "Was Mike Newton involved in creating your perspective of them somehow?"

I grinned but hit him playfully. "The three eldest seemed no more than fifteen or so, and the youngest was about six or seven. There were six of them. But they all wore really tatty and scrapped clothes that were really filthy. And the amount that they ate! It was incredible. The six-year-old girl ate about two steaks, one portion of fries, but then the chocolate gateau after."

Edward's eyebrows moved higher. "A six-year-old girl? Wow, that's a first." Then he grinned again. "Do you think more werewolves are in town?"

I giggled at that. We still hadn't let go of each other, and I got lost in his dark eyes again. The spell finally broke when he spoke again.

"All of us are going hunting tonight, so I won't be able to stay with you tonight, and it's a faint possibility that I won't be back for two days. It depends on how far we go to get our prey."

I looked at him sceptically. "Were you planning to go to South America to hunt? Or will you just decide to walk a human pace back from Canada?"

He laughed loudly. "We haven't been hunting for a while, so it might take us a while to find enough prey." He let go of me, then kissed my nose. "Which basically means, I should go now."

"What?" I protested. "You've only just got here, and…" I struggled to find an excuse for him to stay longer. "…and Charlie will be suspicious if you just drop by like this." I folded my arms, pleased with myself.

"I'll just tell him I had to give you something before I went to an appointment." He pushed me onto the bed, and placed a hand on my head like I was a child. "I love you. And you look tired, so get some rest for me, please? I'll be back before you miss me."

"Then come back now," I pleaded, "because I miss you already."

He winked at me again, then opened and closed the door before I could argue. Only when I tried to stand up did I realise he was right; I was exhausted. I laid down on the bed, curling up in a ball on my side, and fell asleep to the sound of the Volvo's engine purring to life.

**Max's POV**

_Wake up, Maximum! Wake up!_

Huh? Voice, what the hell? A female, mutant bird-freak needs their 'z's, what do you want?

_Danger is coming! You must protect the flock!_

Danger? I jumped up from my sleeping position to jerk my head wildly around, searching for the "danger". All the others were sleeping peacefully, whilst Fang had his back to a tree whilst he was taking watch. He saw me up, and noticed my anxiety, standing up to join me by my side.

"What is it?" he asked, his voice low in case of enemy ears.

"The Voice told me danger was near. It hasn't been wrong yet; always right in some kind of roundabout way. And this time it sounded scared, urgent."

He immediately stood behind me, back-to-back, circling so we could scan all our surroundings. We all had our wings hidden beneath jackets, so we couldn't take off lightning fast if we needed to. I heard a rustling in the bushes nearby, and someone whisper-shouting.

"No, Jazz, wait! Stop him!"

A blonde human suddenly sprung out of the bushes to my left, his eyes almost as wild as his crazy curls. But the weird thing was, he was snarling. Like an animal. I managed to hold in my scream, but I yelled to Fang.

"To your right, roll under him!"

We rolled under the springing human/animal thing, and he rushed over us as we both regained our footing. The others were awake by now, and immediately took their fighting stances. I turned back around almost at the same time as the creature, and grabbed a large loose branch. I spun around quickly throwing it at the strange threat. It hit him square in the face, and he flew back a few feet. But get this; the branch _**shattered**_. Completely. The whole branch just smashed into smaller splinters. Shock was the first emotion that flashed across the creature's face, but that was soon replaced by pure fury. It roared again, then charged at me, moving almost too fast for me to see (with raptor vision, so that's saying something). Fang's voice reached my ears as I tried, and failed, to find a way out of this situation.

"Max, look out!" Undisguised fear covered every word that Fang said, and this was the first time I have ever heard him portray that emotion. Or any emotion that strongly.

Suddenly, my vision of the charging human was blocked by a black jacket. I immediately understood what was happening.

"Fang, no! Get out of the way!"

Fang was grabbed from in front of me, and thrown through the air, extremely high up, to crash into the stone side of the nearby cliff, creating a medium sized crack. I heard him cry out in pain (that must have _**really**_ hurt; Fang never admits or shows he's in pain), but he then fell from his position, back down to the ground, and didn't move.

"FANG!" My whole flock screamed at his body, but no response was given. Rage pulsed through my blood, and I spun back around to face our attacker, fists clenched so tightly my knuckles were screaming at me. The creature was about to lunge for me again when six other humans (well, they can't be humans; no human can move that fast) jumped out of the shrubbery and a huge, beefy one pinned the blonde one down. The blonde writhed within the other's grasp, keeping his wild, pitch black eyes looked onto me and my flock. I was about to take advantage of his position, grabbing another branch, when I was suddenly restrained, hands behind me, by someone _**unbelievably**_ strong. I couldn't move an inch, no matter how reckless I felt. Then I remembered our own casualty, and spotted him a few feet away.

"Oh my God, Fang!"

I shook my arms loose, and I felt the hands try to grab me again, but I twisted away from them, stumbling desperately over to my right-hand man.

"Fang? Fang! Oh God, please wake up. Fang, answer me, dammit!"

I rolled his body over, and he was unconscious, his face still screwed up in pain. The back of his head was bleeding a fair bit, and his back was swollen up really badly.

"Oh God, no. Please, please, let him live. No, not now, not him. Please God, not him. Let me be dreaming. Please, I want to wake up, I _**need**_ to wake up."

I heard the creatures making plans between themselves. They had a leader too, and he was telling them to 'go and hunt somewhere far from here. I'll stay here with them. Only come back when Jasper has calmed down'.

"Iggy!" I screamed at my brother, mostly ignoring the creatures. He came rushing over, following the direction of my voice, and I directed his hands to Fang's back and head.

"Oh, jeez. Oh God, this is real bad. His back could be broken; maybe a few ribs, could be his…spine."

I was biting my fingers so hard trying not to cry. I felt so helpless, and yet I needed to do _**something**_ to let Fang live. I needed him, I always have. I loved him. Why did I see this now, when he was just about to die? I couldn't even tell him that I loved him, because he was never going to gain consciousness again. His last heroic act was to dive in between me and the danger. Oh God, you _**idiot**_! Why? You didn't have to prove yourself a hero! You –

"Please, excuse me, I think I can help. I'm a doctor, and I have some resources back at my home –"

"Shut up!" I exploded at the creature. "If it weren't for you and the blonde wild _**animal**_, he wouldn't even be like this! Just f*** off!" I tried to lunge at the leader, but he grabbed my wrists and pinned them to my sides. He looked so calm and understanding I wanted to punch his face in. But he also looked apologetic, so I gave him a chance to speak.

"I know you want to kill me right now, and I don't doubt that all of you together against me could probably achieve that. But that won't help your friend's condition, and if you leave me alone for enough time to get to him, I could find out what was wrong with him. Then you can all come back to my home, whether I can help him or not. My family have left us for now, and they will come back when they are fit to do so."

This guy seemed nice, and he spoke logically, definitely knowing his priorities. He looked about in his early twenties, with his blonde hair neatly slicked back over his head, and was dressed in smart, sophisticated clothes.

"And how do I know that, when your family comes back, you won't just try to attack us then?"

His eyes, more golden than our attackers, stared deep into mine.

"You don't."

I thought for a second. Literally a second, because I knew every minute I wasted was another minute off how long Fang had to live. I nodded my head once, and he released my wrists. I called to Iggy to come over to me, out of the way, and I watched as the doctor looked Fang over, running his hands gently over his back.

I turned back to the others of my flock, and they looked so scared for Fang I just opened my arms out wide, signalling for them to run to me. They all did as they were told, and I pulled them all close. Angel stuck out the most though; her face showed a picture of pure terror. I didn't expect to find it so intense on her face, and I frowned at her in confusion.

_Angel, what is it?_ I thought to her. She looked up at me.

**That family, both our attacker and the ones that stopped him…they're all vampires.**

Oh…my…God. I looked over quickly at Fang, realising that his head was bleeding badly and a vampire was nursing him.

**No, no. He's fine. He's the most controlled out of all of them. The blonde one attacked us because he could smell the dried blood on our jackets. They were really thirsty, and they're good vampires**

I stared at her incredulously, and jerked my head over to Fang, lying half-dead on the ground.

**They have an excuse though,** she insisted.** They only drink animal blood, even though human blood is most satisfying. They try to be civilised, but they never really feel satisfied, so it's a little hard for them to be around humans when they're hunting. The one that attacked us was less practised in resisting human blood.**

I suppose that's an excuse. But that doesn't mean I'll forgive this guy – Jasper, wasn't it? – because Fang could be crippled for life. What the hell were they made of, anyway?

**They have super-strength, super-speed, and their skin is really hard and tough. It takes a lot more to hurt them than it does us, or humans.**

OK, time to put on my leader hat and analyse the situation fully. _Can they do anything else?_ I asked my youngest, most talented sister.

**The one with the bronze hair, the one who was holding you back, can read minds like me. I don't think he's picked up on our wings or talents though, because you guys have had experience on trying to block me out.** I almost laughed at that part of her explanation, as she sounded quite upset.__**The really big one is the strongest of the family. Emmett, I think his name is. The doctor is Carlisle; that much I know. The one who attacked us is probably Jasper, and from what I picked up, he can control people's emotions and feelings. His girlfriend, the really small one with the spiky hair, can see people's futures, but her vision-y-things can change with something that I didn't get. The others can't do much special, and I didn't really pick up their names. **

_Alright, well let's try and learn them later. Tell the others what we've just been talking about, all of it, Angel, and then tell them to wait for my signal if anything goes wrong._

**They've been listening the whole time,** Angel replied.

Now that the conversation had ended, I had nothing to distract me from the very-real, limp and badly injured body of Fang, with the vampire doctor – alright, my hat's off to him – leaning over him and examining him. I crossed my fingers in the vain hope that it would work, and that Fang would live.

"His spine is still intact," the doctor – Carlisle – suddenly called to us, loud enough to indicate that he still didn't know that we had raptor hearing. I rushed over to him, looking down at Fang.

"It's not broken?" I breathed.

"No, just badly bruised." I practically sank to my stomach in relief. "He's probably broken a couple of ribs as well, and I might need to give him more blood because of his head wound. But if my calculations are correct…" He hoisted Fang carefully up into his arms, his legs over one arm, head at the other shoulder. "…then he should be alright if he stays at my home for a while, so I can work on him."

My heart was literally doing back-flips, side-flips, front-flips, cart-wheels and any other gymnastic move that would be interpreted as sheer joy. Somehow, when the doctor was examining Fang's back, he hadn't needed to take his jacket off or anything, so he still hadn't found out about our wings. Carlisle started walking through the forest, due north-west, and we all followed him, trying hard not to look at Fang or skip around like a goon. I failed on both tasks.

"I'm sorry, but my home is quite far away, so it may take some time to get there," Carlisle apologised sheepishly.

_Not when you have super-speed_, I thought, and then I realised that I wanted him to get to work on Fang as soon as possible. I bit my tongue so I didn't ask him to run as fast as he could.

"It won't take a while with the speed you and your family can reach," Angel hinted for me. We all stood still, and Carlisle came to a stunned, abrupt stop. He whirled around to face Angel, shock clear on his face, but guilt and pain seemed to be hidden deep as well. He stared at Angel for a while, before she finally told him.

"We're special. I can read minds, send thoughts to them, sometimes control them, and we all have other secrets. Because of what I can do, I know what you and your family are, and I've told my friends, apart from the one in your arms. We'll tell you them when you get home and get our friend in a stable condition. We can travel separately to your home, so we don't reveal our secrets too soon."

Since when did I put Angel in charge? But I just realised; she sounded exactly like me, and this was such a brilliant idea I wondered why I hadn't thought of it earlier. Carlisle swallowed, considering this, then nodded once, but didn't move.

"Alright," he agreed. "I'll probably make it back to my home in about five minutes, and my family may arrive half an hour after me. How long will it take you?"

I shrugged, taking control again. "How fast can you travel?"

"Slightly faster than five hundred miles an hour."

I silently compared the speed that the doctor travelled at with our own speed, then converted this to time.

"We'll probably arrive at your house about five or ten minutes after yourself. Just tell us which direct bearing to travel."

"North-north-west. Keep travelling until you find a road then follow that west for a short distance."

We all nodded back at him, and he turned around to run off at a speed that was impossible to describe. He was blurring through the forest, around the trees nimbly, until I was sure that he was going to hit one of them, and Fang would surely die then –

Shut up, Max! Fang's going to be fine. You heard the doctor yourself.

I sighed hopefully, and motioned for the others to U and A, and we all took off, careful to cruise along at a casual pace so as not to fly over Carlisle and reveal our secrets too soon. We also kept a look out for Carlisle's family as well, just in case they saw us before we had arranged. I gave Angel a look that showed that I was immensely proud of her for coming to such a logical and leader-like decision, and she smiled sadly at me.

**I just want Fang to get better**.

I nodded at her to say 'Me too', but she wasn't finished.

**I want Fang to get better so that you can tell him you love him.**

I quickly looked away, so she wouldn't see the pain on my face, or the tears in my eyes. I needed him more than myself. I needed him to survive, to stay sane. If I fall to pieces, he's always the one picking up the pieces and sticking me back together, and we've always been together. I remembered reaching through the bars on my dog-crate, reaching out to each other for years, but our arms were never quite long enough. Then, suddenly, one day, we had reached through the bars, and our fingers had touched. We were so delighted and shocked by this improvement that we had sat there for hours, our arms out-stretched towards each other, fingers touching. Over the next few years, our arms had grown more, and we could hold more of each other's hands. It finally got to the time when we could link fingers perfectly, and we had stared into each other's eyes, comforting each other silently and letting the other know that we were there. In my mind, I reached through my bars, reaching out to Fang.

_I'm here, Fang,_ I called out to him. _I'm here, and I'll never leave you._

I kept staring into Fang's "mind-cage", and I thought I saw some movement, as if he was trying to get closer to the bars. So I called out again.

_I'm here. It's okay. I love you._

**Fang's POV**

Through all the blinding pain coming from my back and my head, I felt the wind ruffling my hair at an unnatural speed, but I was slowly slipping back into the blackness. I didn't even bother trying to open my eyes, because I knew I'd just close them again. I felt cold, hard arms underneath me, but they felt safe enough. Then I heard something I knew I shouldn't be hearing.

_I'm here, Fang. I'm here and I'll never leave you._

Max. Oh, God, Max. I hear you, Max, I hear you. Don't let me slip back under; I want to stay with you. Please pull me back up.

_I'm here. It's okay. I love you._

She did. I knew it. I knew she loved me. Max, hear me, please. If there's a God, please send her this message: I love you too.

Blackness.


	2. Truths

**Chapter 2: Truths**

**Max's POV**

We found the doctor's house, and boy, did these guys know how to choose design! It had, like, white walls, and a weirdly-shaped roof, made of really schmancy-looking, well-polished wood. Most of the north-facing wall was glass, with panes made of the same wood as the roof. It looked so open, really light. Not exactly what I had been expecting. But I don't really know what I was expecting. If I hadn't known the family were vamps, I would have just pictured an ordinary house, nothing really special. Yet as soon as I knew what they were, I must have subconsciously thought of a castle or a dungeon, or a morgue. Somewhere that's really morbid and dark.

We circled around to the side where the walls were opaque, so Carlisle couldn't see us landing with our wings. We also checked the area for his family before we finally touched-down. We then folded our wings back in, strapping them to us with our windbreakers, then covering them with our jackets again. Mind you, for all we knew, the doc could have taken a look at Fang's back before we got here. I asked Angel to check his thoughts out, see if there was any hint of his knowledge. She said there was only confusion, curiosity, and the likes of anticipation (where did she learn that word?). We walked up to the front door, and knocked politely, like we hadn't just come to check on our half-dead brother. Or boyfriend. The door was opened quickly and Carlisle gave us all a courteous nod, and smiled slightly. He stepped out of the way so we could enter, and he silently pointed us up some stairs, wooden again, and through the first door on the left. That room was split into two rooms by a division straight ahead of us; the left side led to a lounge with glass sliding-doors at the back; the right side was a kitchen that looked like it hadn't been used at all. I sent a questioning thought to Angel about this, and she replied that they don't eat. I almost slapped myself; of course they don't eat, they drink blood and that's all they need.

I saw Fang lying on one of the couches in the lounge, still unconscious, a blood-bag hung from a coat-rack or something, the tube running from the bag into Fang's wrist. His head was bandaged up tightly, and his back still looked awkwardly shaped. I realised with a jolt that we didn't know if his wings were okay or not. We couldn't stay in this place for long, otherwise this family will be in danger of the Flyboys or Erasers or some other weird creature that had been created to kill mutant bird-freaks. But if Fang couldn't fly, then we would have to stay here until he healed, which could be any amount of time. I couldn't think of a time when his injuries were worse than this, so I had no idea how long he needed.

I rushed to his side, kneeling down beside him, and picking up his hand gently to hold in mine. The others came over as well and I leaned over to whisper in Iggy's ear.

"Can you check now if his wings are alright?"

He put his mouth to where he thought my ear was. "Already did back in the forest. The bones are fine, if a little bit bruised, but I don't know about scratches on them or anything like that."

I guided his hand to mine so he could feel the thumbs-up I was giving him. He smiled half-heartedly and I placed my spare hand on his shoulder. He reached up to hold it, and leaned in to whisper to me again.

"Shouldn't I be the one comforting you?"

"I'm the leader; I can't show weakness in front of the kids."

"You love him, though. I may be blind, but I know that much, and I can't imagine how hard it is for you to see him like this."

I grimaced, and I was glad that he couldn't see that. He stroked my hand with his thumb, and I was grateful that I had a brother like him. He was so strong and could do almost anything despite his blindness. It never ceased to amaze me how great a cook he was.

Footsteps through the front door and up the steps jerked us back down into reality, and we all turned around to look to the door to the lounge, and it opened moments later to reveal the rest of the family. They all stepped into the room, silently, gazing at us and at Fang on the couch, and they closed the door behind them, waiting for a response.

"So much for half an hour after us," I muttered to Carlisle. He nodded.

"Yes, that was quite quick. I hadn't expected you back so soon."

The beefy one shrugged carelessly. "They were all together. It was pretty easy to get them."

The eldest-looking female, the one with subtly curled bronze hair, gave a look to the big one, but he ignored it. They were all looking to Carlisle now, which confirmed that he was their leader.

"Right," Carlisle said formally, as if discussing business matters. "Well, they know. About us."

The group all seemed startled. The male with the bronze hair, I think this one was the telepath Angel was talking about, spoke first. "How? Did you tell them?"

"No, Edward. As it is, it turns out that you are not the only telepath around here anymore."

They group turned their glances back to us again. Edward spoke up once more. "Who?"

Angel sheepishly raised her hand, as if owning up to breaking the rules at school. More eyebrows were raised, probably the shock from such a talented young child. Carlisle explained that Fang was stable but with severe injuries to his back. All through this explanation, our blonde attacker, Jasper, kept his eyes down at his feet, but I guessed it was out of shame. Then Carlisle explained our deal made in the forest, that when Fang was settled, we would tell them our secrets, since we knew theirs. At this mention, they all took their own seats around us, still gazing at us, but curiously now. Carlisle rested with his elbows on his knees, holding his chin lightly in both his hands.

"We know you guys are special," the beefy one spoke again, "because it takes a lot to hurt us. And you pushed Jasper back a few feet, which is almost unheard of, except if you are one of us. Which we know you're not, or Jasper wouldn't have attacked."

I had already guessed that Carlisle and the bronze-haired woman were the "parents" of the family, and the others were the "children". So I can describe Jasper glaring at his "brother", Emmett.

"Emmett," the 'mother' stopped him. "Introductions first." She smiled at us. "I am Esme Cullen, and you already know my husband Carlisle Cullen." She pointed to Emmett again. "This is Emmett, one of my eldest sons, so to speak." She indicated Jasper, and muttered that we would probably already know him. I tried to smile at him, to show that I didn't condemn him for attacking, because he couldn't help it. He returned a grateful but half-hearted one. Esme next pointed to the bronze-haired boy. "This is Edward, and he can read minds, just like you, sweetie." She smiled at Angel, who beamed back. Angel waved at Edward, looking as cute as she could. It worked and Edward smiled back, waving slightly. "This is Alice, Jasper's partner," Esme continued, singling out the small girl with the short, spiky black hair. "And the last is Rosalie, Emmett's partner." The stunningly-gorgeous blonde on the end was the only of the family to glare at us.

"Um, hi," I started. I introduced us all, pointing to each in turn. "I'm Maximum Ride, but everyone calls me Max; this is Iggy; the Gasman, or Gaz, or Gazzy if you want; Nudge; Angel; and…um," I nodded over to Fang on the couch. "That's Fang there."

They all nodded, taking in our names.

"Okay, Max," Carlisle continued. "The secrets?"

I nodded and took a deep breath. I looked at Fang again, just for comfort, so I know that he's still there with me, even though he's unconscious. I sighed, and stood up, closed my eyes and shrugged out of my jacket.

**Edward's POV**

The girl, Max, stood up in front of us, taking one last glance at her friend. Probably her boyfriend the way she looked at him. She closed her eyes, and slid her arms out of her jacket, letting it fall to the floor. At first, I had no idea what I was looking at, until she extended them to their full glory, and what can only be described as _**wings**_ stretched at least eleven feet across our lounge. They were brown with mottled white all on them, and were lined with white. I couldn't help it; I just stared, open-mouthed at her. She signalled for the others to join her, and they all stood up, taking off their jackets to reveal their own pair of wings. Iggy's were the largest, with a span of no less than twelve feet, and Angel's were the most startling, as they were pure white.

They all seemed very tall for their ages, and I realised that Max and Iggy were probably taller than Bella. But, even in their magnificence, the group looked very sad and tired, like they liked having this difference, but they came with more disadvantages than the opposite. Max's eyes were still locked on Fang, the boy on the couch.

"Fang's are just as big as Iggy's, but they're all black," she murmured.

Esme's hand had been pressed against her silent heart for some time now, but she was the first of us to break through our shock and speak. "What are you?" she whispered.

Max looked at her with that ancient sadness in her eyes. "If you think we're angels, you're wrong," she said bitterly. "We're –"

Iggy interrupted her. "We're genetic experiments. Ninety-eight percent human, two percent bird. We were all taken when we were literally just born, then experimented on. Fang, Max and I are the oldest, at about fourteen years old; Nudge is about ten; Gazzy's somewhere around eight, whilst his biological sister, Angel, is about six."

"Hold on," Alice stopped him. "About? You mean you don't know?"

Iggy shrugged sadly. "Like I said, we were taken when we were first born, and our true identities – our parents, our birthdays and all that – have been hidden from us for all our lives."

Emmett shook his head incredulously, and Carlisle hid his head in his hands. Max continued for her "brother".

"It's great having wings and being able to fly, but there's one major downfall: we're not viewed as human, so, at the School – that's what we call the place where they tested us – we weren't protected by the Human Rights system. We were kept in dog-crates, and many of the experiments were painful, and resulted badly. My brother, Iggy, can't see right now because of one experiment." I heard Esme whimper sympathetically, and I reached over to rub her shoulder. Max still had other things to explain.

"We managed to escape about three years ago, but we've been running ever since, because the School, or Itexicon is their company name, always wants us back for more experiments. The only experiments to have survived properly so far are us, and some human-lupine hybrid we call Erasers. They have been designed to come out and kill us. We sleep rough almost every night, that's why we were in the forest. We don't often have money, so we can't book hotel rooms or anything. Itex have created other things like Erasers, but robots that fly, that we call Flyboys." She met Carlisle's gaze firmly, but with tears in her eyes that were clearly detectable in her voice. "Please, we can't stay here for long, or we'll endanger your family, because the School could find us. We heal faster than full humans, but please tell me that Fang will be alright. I need him; he's my right-hand man, and he's always been there for me. We've always comforted each other at the School, and given each other hope. Please tell me he'll be fine, because I…I l-love h-h-him."

Max was freely sobbing now, tears streaming down her face, and she sank to her knees on our floor. Iggy bent down to her carefully, and wrapped his arms around her. She buried her face in his shoulder, and tears of his own ran down Iggy's face. The others all cocooned around Max, clinging on to her like marine soldiers cling to letters from their loved ones. Once Max had got some composure over herself, she crawled back to Fang on the couch, and lifted his hand to wipe her tears off her face.

"You feel these?" she asked him. "Eh? These are for you, you know."

Esme bit her finger to try and disguise her own sobs, but she didn't fool me. I shuffled closer to her and embraced her, pulling her into me, much like Iggy had done to Max.

"What has the world come to?" Esme breathed into my shirt. I shushed her, stroking her head, and I heard Emmett, my tough, muscular, daring brother, breathing an emotional, shaky breath.

"A six-year-old living in those conditions; that's just…sick!" he spit.

I looked back at Max and the group, and it suddenly hit me how much Max reminded me of my own Bella. She was always putting others first, never caring about her own safety, just so long as those that she loved were unharmed. She was usually strong, or seemed it, but I always knew that, because I couldn't read her mind, she could hide how much pain she was in really. So when it became too much, she completely broke down. She would lay her life on the line for mine, just so long as we could be together.

Angel turned to look at me, her blue eyes red with tears, and I wanted to cry at her expression; she looked desperate, lost, and trapped. I was about to read her thoughts, when it was like she sent them to me instead.

**Please help us.**

_I will_, I thought back, trying to sound determined.

Esme suddenly stood up, straightening her clothes down, and walked over to Max's side. Max looked at her, waiting.

"You are all staying here," Esme said firmly, her voice breaking every few words. "You are all staying here until Fang heals completely, and then, if you still must go, then you must go."

"But the School could find us, send loads of Flyboys, and I don't want to put more people in danger than there already are," Max argued.

Esme looked at us all meaningfully. _We can take care of ourselves_, she thought to me. I nodded.

"We can take care of ourselves," she promised the children.

Carlisle decided to start thinking a plan of action out logically. "Do you know what we can do? What some of us are capable of?" The bird-children nodded.

"Then, are then any other talents you have? We already know about Angel's telepathy."

"We all have raptor vision, hearing and reflexes. Angel can read and talk to people in their minds. She can sometimes control them. She can also breathe underwater, talk to fish and alter her appearance slightly. Iggy can see which colour an object is by feeling it. Iggy and Gazzy are also kind of experts at making things explode and making bombs. Nudge can make metal objects move and fly towards her. Fang can sometimes go invisible if he sits really still. I can fly really fast, and I usually have this voice in my head that tells me what to do. It's what woke me up just before Jasper attacked." She looked like she was trying to think of something to lighten the mood. "Oh, and also, if you know what's good for you, stay up-wind of Gazzy for as much time as possible. He's not called the Gasman for nothing, you know."

We all smiled half-heartedly as the youngest blonde boy giggled.

"Okay, you all need to get some sleep now. We can see how Fang is later on in the morning. We don't sleep, so we can keep a constant watch over him. You can each sleep in our rooms. We will show you them now."

With that, Emmett stuck out his hand to little Angel, tempting her to take it. She placed her tiny fragile hand in his with no hesitation, but when they got to the door, Angel stopped, turned around, ran up to Fang, and kissed him once on the cheek. She hugged all of her friends, then they did something with their fists, stacking them on top of each other in some sequence, with Max holding Fang's fist on. Angel ran back to Emmett, who was smiling sweetly at her, and she held his hand again, following him upstairs. Alice tapped Iggy on the shoulder, asking if he would like to hold her elbow. He smiled gratefully at her and took it, and she led him out of the room. Esme took the hands of Nudge and the Gasman, and she took them probably to her and Carlisle's room. Rosalie stalked off, unaccompanied, but her thoughts were more sympathetic to the bird-children now. Carlisle smiled at me, then walked off, maybe to talk to Rosalie. I turned to Max and we both smiled at each other. Then she looked sheepish.

"No offense," she muttered, "but can I sleep here?" She nodded meaningfully to Fang. "I don't want to leave him."

I smiled at her again. "Of course. I'll just go and get a blanket and pillow."

"Thank you."

I returned with the promised blanket and pillow, and she was kneeling next to him again, stroking her hand through his hair. Everything about this boy seemed dark: his skin, his wings, his hair, and from what I remember, his eyes too.

"He isn't going anywhere, you know. He'll still be there later this morning. You should try to get some sleep."

She obeyed silently, but not before brushing Fang's curly hair back again, then kissing him lightly on the cheek. She slipped onto the spare couch, and placed the pillow under her head, pulling the blanket up to her shoulders. I sat on the edge, constantly looking at her. She noticed my scrutiny.

"What?" she asked me, smiling slightly self-conscious.

I shook my head. "It's just you remind me so much of my own love. She has the same characteristics as you, and I'm trying hard not to imagine her with a life like yours. It must be so hard."

She shrugged as much as possible whilst leaning on her side. "It's okay sometimes. Like I found out who my mom was a month ago. She's the best, and I've got a half-sister, and they're both really great."

I frowned and she asked what was wrong again. "It's just I'm used to picking up everything about someone from their heads, but these facts about you, and the others as well, keep slipping my notice."

She smiled at me again. "Don't beat yourself up. We live with a six-year-old who can read minds, so we try to think of unimportant stuff to distract us from these things, so she doesn't pick them up. I had to be careful about what I thought about around Fang. I often slipped up." She sighed sadly, looking over to her love again.

"I know what it's like to be worried about someone you love," I whispered to her, thinking about all the times when I had gone crazy over keeping Bella safe. I was so lost in these thoughts that I mentioned her name aloud. "Bella is human, and so you probably can imagine how fragile she looks to me. But they often pull through. My own Bella was almost killed by one of our own kind." I tried to resist growling when I thought of James. "Bella's blood is the most appealing to me though. I often describe her as my own personal brand of heroin. Her scent just seems to stronger, and more satisfying. I don't know what it is. But she's alive now; I managed to save her just in time, but she was a mess." I just said the biggest understatement of the century.

Max suddenly frowned, as if remembering something. "Bella? Is that her name?"

I nodded, and she grinned at me.

"I've met her. I accidently knocked her when she was standing up at the restaurant, and her water got us both. We were standing there arguing over whose fault it was. We were both arguing for ourselves though."

I laughed. "Yeah, that sounds like Bella. She always wants to take the blame for everything."

We sat in silence for another few minutes, and Max's attention drifted back to Fang. She kept staring at him, her eyes flicking everywhere on him, probably making sure everything was as alright as it could be. Her unguarded thoughts confirmed my theory.

"Are you going to tell him? In the morning?" Anyone could guess that I was talking about her feelings towards him.

She was silent for a few more minutes, thinking it through, then answered slowly. "I probably won't tell him in the morning, because…I don't actually know why not. It just doesn't feel right. We've looked at each other like a brother and sister for years now, and it just feels weird loving your brother in that way. I might tell him later on." She sighed. "I've always let him down when it came to feelings. He's kissed me a fair few times now, but every time I just had this impulse to run away. I just felt like, if we were together, we were more vulnerable. We have lots of people chasing after us, and all of them are sadistic and cruel and wouldn't think twice about torturing one or all of us. If they needed something from either Fang or me, they would just have to threaten the other one. Take them hostage or something cheesy but infuriating like that."

I placed my hand on her head, much like I had done to Bella a few hours earlier. She looked at me questioningly.

"Just don't think of that now, and try to get some sleep. He'll still be here in the morning, and he could be awake by then. Just promise me you'll tell him someday soon, because you'll feel much happier if he knows. I know because it was the same with Bella and me."

She nestled herself further under the blanket and soon her eyes closed and her breathing regulated. So I left her, walking quietly and leisurely out to discuss with Carlisle our plans. We needed them if the things the bird-children had spoken of find us, as we needed to protect them. I certainly wasn't giving them up.

**Rosalie's POV**

I found Emmett still gazing adoringly at the youngest hybrid, Angel. He knew that I had entered, but he didn't even look at me or speak to me for a few minutes. Our kind are naturally created with patience though, and I waited for him to say something. It took him twenty minutes and fourteen seconds.

"She reminds me so much of you, you know," he whispered. I glanced at the child, sleeping peacefully and clutching at a toy bear that had seen better days. I saw the resemblances; the blonde hair, slightly curled; the blue eyes I used to have; the innocent nature with a contrasting vicious, mysterious personality. We did not know the full extent of her capabilities back then. But I had to agree with my love on this topic.

"Even with the appearance alone, it's almost as if she's…" I trailed off.

"The daughter we could and can never have," he finished for me, the sadness unguarded in his voice.

I walked over to stand behind him, and wrapped my arms around his neck in a choke-hold. He lifted his hands to hold mine gently.

"What should we do?" I asked, meaning our situation in general, concerning all of the children.

Emmett thought for a moment. "We should follow Carlisle's lead, and I'm sure Edward is contributing to his plans even as we speak. We should protect them, because it's nothing more than they deserve."

We both agreed silently, and we stood there for almost the whole night, watching and guarding our beloved wish.


	3. Holy crap

**Chapter 3: Holy crap**

**Fang's POV**

The searing pains in my back jerked me above the numbing blackness, and I clenched my fists to stop myself crying out. I knew Max wouldn't like that. I peeked through one eye, and found myself staring up at a proper ceiling, with walls surrounding it, pretty schmancy furniture in the room, and dawn was breaking over the horizon, which I could see through the window to my left. Despite the screaming protests I was getting from my back, I pushed myself up, trying to get a better look around. A man with blonde hair, slicked back neatly, was staring at me concerned. Behind him, I saw some other people, mostly in their late-teens. I recognised the animal that had attacked us, and I tensed up ready to fight, turning to glare at the older man. I opened my mouth to try and say something like "When is the torture going to start, then?", but he put his fingers to his lips. He pointed to my right, and I looked over to see Max, curled up with a blanket and pillow, looking at least slightly peaceful. I whipped my head back to the man, confused, and he rested his head to the side, on his two hands placed together, imitating a sleeping position. Max was asleep and he didn't want me to wake her. I could still feel a confused mask firmly in place on my face, and he smiled slightly, amused. He got up, walked over to my side, and bent down to whisper in my ear.

"Max has told us everything about you and your family, and your pasts. We made a deal last night, because she knew about what we were because Angel read my mind. They are all safe, and are sleeping, but they are all scared to death about you. When she wakes up, I am sure Max will tell you everything that happened last night, and about us. I will leave the explaining to her though, since you will probably believe and trust her more than us."

He raised his eyebrows at me, then withdrew, leaving me pretty clueless. I glanced at Max again, watching her sleep as I usually did when it was my watch. She's so beautiful when she sleeps; it looks like she's finally at a place that's better than the one we are in at the moment. She looks like she's escaped from all the Erasers, and the School, and the troubles, and she's just settled down on some remote island with lots of sun, with all of the flock surrounding her, building sandcastles and all the cheesy paradise stuff.

The blonde man was back, holding a glass of water out to me in one hand, and some white weird-looking pills in the other. I frowned, hesitating and considering the option that he was trying to poison me.

"They're painkillers," he explained. "I know your back must be murdering you right now."

I took them from him gratefully, as the pain was really burning me. It felt like the muscles in my whole back were strained, and, as I knew now that the family knew about our wings, I tried to extend mine. It hurt a hell of a lot, and by the end of it, my fists were clenched tightly and I'd almost bitten through my lower lip. But I managed it. I brought my wings back in slowly, and the man was back, explaining that he was a doctor and he had examined me last night.

"I have heard that you can heal faster than humans," he whispered, "so I have adjusted my calculations accordingly. You must stay in bed – all the time – for two days at most, probably one and a half in your case. After that, you can get up and walk around with the others, but be careful when getting up and sitting or lying back down, and don't bend down to pick things up or anything. But this part you might be a little upset about: no flying for five days at least."

I groaned quietly, thinking about how I could spend my time cooped up on a couch for a day, then how I could fill in my time after that without flying. There weren't many fun options.

I suddenly heard small, light footsteps from behind the "children", and they all looked behind them, then parted. Angel came charging, quietly mind you, into the room and almost winded me by hugging me and head-butting me at the same time. Not to mention the attack I was getting from my back muscles. Angel just hid her face in my jacket, arms half-crushing me, and I waited for her to let me go so I could breathe again. She didn't, and it seemed like she was waiting for me to say something.

"Hey, squirt," I croaked out, placing my hand on the back of her head.

She let me go at last, and she was smiling so wide her cheeks must have hurt. "I'm so glad you're okay."

"Yeah," I agree enthusiastically. "Me too."

She giggled, but her head then jerked to where Max was lying down. I followed her gaze and I saw Max stirring, just waking up.

_This is going to be fun_, I thought.

**Max's POV**

In my dream, I was talking to Fang still, both of us sitting near the bars on our cages, talking about plans to escape and dreams we knew that would never come true. Or that's what we thought back then. Nowadays nothing seems impossible for us.

A cute little giggle cut through our discussion, and I recognised it immediately: Angel. Did we say something funny? What had Fang thought? Or, oh God, have the whitecoats drugged her? I shifted in my cage to take a look at her…and found myself trying to carefully examine the back of a couch. Weirdness/awkwardness, scale factor 10. I felt myself blushing, but then the reality of the previous day swamped my embarrassment, and I almost leapt off the couch. Instead, I tried to flip myself up so I was sitting on the couch. The main word in that sentence is 'tried'. I ended up toppling off the couch in a very ungraceful way, landing on my stomach flat on the floor. I lay there, still extremely tired, so I tried to gather my strength. I could hear many people trying to stifle laughter, and I groaned.

"Graceful as a swan, Max," Angel complimented me, and I could hear the smile in her voice.

"Shut up," I replied into the carpet. I heard a deep, velvet chuckle and reality slapped me in the face again. I would know this laugh anywhere, because I never hear enough of it. It was Fang.

Suddenly wide awake, I jerked my head to look up, straining a few muscles in my neck as I did so. I saw him smiling down at me, his teeth a bright contrast to his dark but shining eyes. He was propped up awkwardly against the back of the couch, and his wings were extended slightly. But his forehead wore lines that indicated how much pain he was in. But he was alive. And awake. And smiling at me. Someone write this date down, and label it in big capital letters: BEST DAY OF MAX'S LIFE. Crap; I don't know what date it is. Remind me to check later.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty," he winked at me.

"Fang," I whispered, hurriedly getting up and going over to him. I threw my arms around him, burying my face in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around my waist and back, whole-heartedly returning the hug. But after a while he whispered at me.

"Max?"

"Mm?" I replied, breathing in the scent of him.

"My back."

"Oh, crap!" I immediately withdrew, cupping my hands around my mouth in shock. "I'm sorry!"

He just laughed at my discomfort. He laughed. Oh…my…God, his laugh was gorgeous! It was the most beautiful sound I had heard in so long, because he hadn't laughed in so long. I tried to joke about my admiration though, trying to hide it.

"Wow, Fang laughed. Someone call the press."

We both grinned at each other, and then I noticed Angel by his side.

"Hey, sweetie! You're up early."

"I heard Fang's thoughts and I knew he was awake. I came down to see him. But I'm not tired, don't worry," she promised me.

"Yeah, she practically crushed me with her hug," Fang said.

"What up, little brother," a voice came from the doorway. Iggy was standing in front of the group of vampire children, smiling broadly.

"Hey, Iggy," Fang greeted him brightly. The two boys embraced shortly, then Fang pulled back to frown at him.

"Since when am I younger than you?"

"Since I decided I'm a better big brother than you," Iggy shot back, still grinning. "No offense, but you're the best as any kind of brother. I'm better as an older brother."

"Yeah, you're kind of like Emmett," Jasper, the one that had attacked us last night, offered, pointing to the big pack of muscles. Emmett grinned, and Jasper smiled back at him. "I can't imagine someone calling Emmett 'little brother'. It's always his line."

Emmett laughed, and the vampire family joined in. I smiled at them all, then realised that Fang would have no idea as to who they were or what they were. Time to explain.

_This is going to be fun_, I thought.

So I explained it to him, looking to Iggy and Angel for support sometimes. Of course, I left out the part where I had broken down and said I loved him. I'd tell him later, but I wasn't ready now. Fang's face was emotionless, even when I revealed to him what the family really were. He accepted it silently, then fell back slightly onto the back of the couch again. A dark shadow of pain crossed his face as he did so, and my eyebrows pulled together sympathetically. Fang looked at the vampires.

"That's a tough life," he said earnestly.

"So is yours," Alice returned.

His lips turned up slightly in agreement. His face screwed up in pain for a second, but it was gone just as fast. I caught it though, and Fang caught my look of desperation and concern. He smiled slightly at me.

"Don't worry about me," he told me.

"It's hard not to when you almost killed yourself," I whispered, biting down on my finger. "I was so scared you were going to die. I just saw your body all crumpled on the ground, and you should see the crack you made in the cliff."

He laughed once without humour. "You should feel the crack it made in my back."

"That's not funny, Fang," I insisted, my voice turning sharp. "And it doesn't make me feel better. Do you have any idea how hard I was praying that you would be alright last night? Do you know what kind of future I saw for us when you weren't there as my right-hand man?" I was so worked up I forgot about my resolution about withholding information. "I completely broke down last night, okay? I wept in front of the younger ones of the flock." I also forgot that Angel was there, listening. "Don't you think that it's really bad for their hopes to see their usually-strong leader completely shatter?"

And you know what I did then? I started crying again, tears rolling down my face, despite the fact of what I'd just said. Fang looked shocked, but reached out for me, grabbing arm and pulling me down into him, smoothing his hand down my back and head, trying to soothe me. I soon gathered myself up again, but Fang and I still held each other, resting our heads on each other's shoulders. I tried to put on my leader-authority voice, but it didn't really work since my voice was breaking every few words.

"If you throw yourself in front of me like that again, I will make sure you're dead afterwards. Clear?"

"I promise," he whispered.

The rest of the flock came down about an hour after us, and they all took turns in hugging Fang, who held them all tight to him. He smiled at them all, trying to be reassuring and telling them that he was fine. He tried to shift his position when no one was looking, so no one could see the pain on his face as he did so, but I never really looked away from him, so I spotted it every time.

He spent most of his time gazing at me as well, some emotion or another buried deep within his obsidian eyes. I had a feeling it was relief, since his goal before was to save me, and he had. But something was scorching and burning bright beneath his irises. My curiosity was surely burning beneath mine, and I couldn't break my gaze from his, and we sat staring intently into each other, trying to decode the enigmas that we both were. I just about registered that everything had gone silent, but I couldn't care enough to break it; I was happy to sit here and stare into Fang's eyes for eternity.

"Max, you look hot," Fang muttered, breaking the spell.

I blinked, stunned, whilst I ignored the snickering around me. "I-I…look what?"

Fang smirked, but rolled his eyes, then placed his hand on my forehead, frowning. "Jeez, Max, you're burning up."

I frowned as well, whilst Carlisle came to check my temperature as well. "I feel fine," I said.

"You are unnaturally warm in human terms," Carlisle agreed, whilst I tried not to flinch at his cold hand. "But I don't know how that would compare with your standards."

"And what about werewolf standards?" said a female voice from the doorway. Everyone turned to look at the new arrival, and the vampire children laughed when they recognised it. Edward grinned the widest, rushing up to the girl with the chocolate, shoulder-length hair, and pale skin, sweeping her into his arms whilst she laughed too. They kissed shortly, then Edward frowned, looking down at his watch meaningfully.

"You're up very early," he commented.

"I get lonely without you. I came over to see if I could sneak in and try a bit on your piano, but I found you guys here." She mock-glared at Edward. "Am I really so annoying that you have to lie to me to come up with an excuse for you not to see me?"

Edward laughed again, then jerked his thumb over to me. Fang adjusted himself again so that Bella couldn't see his wings.

"You know her?" Edward asked Bella.

She nodded, then looked over to me. "Yeah, I do. But I never thought I'd see you again."

I smiled at her. "Same to you, Bella. I ran into your boyfriend and his family under really awkward circumstances though, and here we are now."

She returned the smile, then noticed Fang's awkward positioning on the couch, his faint look of pain on his face. She turned back to her love, eyes wide.

"Okay," she said. "You guys have gone hunting really quickly rather than your two day trip you told me. Then I find you at your house, with some new kids that I met in The Lodge, one of them looking like he's in pain and the others gathered around him looking pretty worried. And the boy in pain has Carlisle, who's a doctor, sitting close to him." Firmness and determination shone in her eyes as she looked back to the others in the room. "I'm on the right track, aren't I?"

Edward, a _**vampire**_ in the face of a human, actually looked scared, or sheepish at least. He rubbed one of his hands on the back of his head, eyes looking at the floor.

"Oh, God," Bella whispered, her hand clutching at her throat. She breathed in slowly. "Alright; I want to know the truth. All of it, Edward."

So we told the story yet again, sharing the sections out between us, whilst Fang and Carlisle kept looking at me worriedly, checking to see if I collapse or something because of my temperature. Surprisingly, she didn't even look shocked at my wings when I opened them out again. Once we had finished, she sat back in the couch, much like Fang had done.

"And I had thought my life could get no weirder," she muttered, probably to herself, but with our hearing we could all hear it. We all chuckled.

She didn't move for another few minutes, staring up at the ceiling and frowning every now and again. I could see Edward getting more and more anxious by the minute because of her lack of response. Alice leaned forwards to try and look at Bella, and tilted her head in confusion.

"Bella?" she called out to her.

"Shush," Bella replied, no unkindly though. "I'm thinking."

We waited for another few minutes, then she beckoned me over to her. I squeezed Fang's hand inconspicuously, then got up and walked over to her. She took my hand in hers, obviously feeling the temperature, and she let it go almost immediately.

"She's too cold to be a werewolf," she confirmed.

"How do you know?" Emmett asked her.

"I've got a rough memory of how hot Jake's skin is."

It went very quiet after that, with all of the vampires glancing at each other uncomfortably, but I held my tongue rather than pushing Bella to say who this Jake was.

"Do you feel sick?" Carlisle asked me.

I shook my head. "Nope, I don't feel like I'm running 100 degrees C." I put my hand to my chest, feeling my heart rate through my t-shirt. I frowned. "Isn't an increase in temperature supposed to be because of an elevated heart rate?"

Carlisle looked confused. "Yes. Why?"

"Because our heart rates are already faster than a human's, but mine right now is at its normal rate. As far as I can tell."

There was another few minutes of silence whilst everybody thought about this new piece of information. Then Bella clicked her fingers, making almost everyone jump. Everyone except Alice (how the hell does a human make the supernatural jump?), who looked at her surprised.

"That's really clever, Bella," she complimented the human.

"Can you see if it's going to work?" Bella replied.

"No, I only saw you actually doing it."

"Then I should protect her first."

"Good idea."

Little Alice and Bella then stood up, walking out of the room to collect things, but I have no idea what. Edward looked absolutely frustrated, almost glaring after the two girls.

"I really wish I could hear her thoughts right now, because Alice is blocking me out," he muttered.

"I can't hear Bella either," Angel suddenly piped up. We all looked at her, startled; there hadn't been one new person that she couldn't read yet.

"Really?" Edward seemed slightly relieved at the fact that he wasn't alone, yet at the same time, was even more frustrated that he couldn't find out his love's thoughts. He sighed. "Only Alice can basically see her thoughts, because Alice's vision change, and are triggered, by someone making a specific decision. If that decision changes, so does the future. Bella must have made a decision so Alice could work out what she was thinking."

"That's really cool," Gazzy said, grinning.

"Wish one of us could see the future," Fang murmured.

"Yeah, that would make our lives a hell lot easier," I agreed.

It was another few minutes of the two girls rooting around in the other room, then Alice called to me from the other room.

"Okay, Max, we're ready. Just stay in there, right where you are, and close your eyes until we say you can open them."

I raised my eyebrows at Fang, but he just shrugged, so I took a deep breath and shut my eyes tight. I heard the girls walk into the room, and the confusion, already thick in the air, was almost suffocating now. You know that urge, when someone tells you to do or not do something, you always want to do the opposite. That's what I was feeling now. I struggled to compose myself, then Alice – I could tell it was Alice because of her cold skin – took my hand and brought it forwards, open, palm facing downwards. I "sensed" something being held underneath my palm, then I heard a weird clicking sound. At that sound, everyone either tensed or moved. Some of the Cullens even hissed.

"Bella, what are you doing? She's human enough to feel that!"

"Stop it! You're going to hurt her!" That was Fang.

"No, wait! Just wait, and watch," Alice commanded.

Everything was silent again, but far from relaxed. A second later, I heard Bella calling my name.

"Max, can you feel anything?"

"Nope."

I "sensed" something being removed from under my hand; there was something still there, just a thinner something. "And now?"

"Still nothing."

It continued like this until there was nothing underneath my hand…and I felt something. It was a strange tickling sensation on the bottom of my palm, like when Total licks me gently.

"I can feel something, but it just sort of tickles."

I heard a few people gasp as the tickling feeling consumed my whole hand. Alice called to me again. "Max, you can open your eyes now."

I opened my eyes, and gazed at my hand. I blinked a few times then looked back at it. It was still there. I held it in front of my face, then looked desperately at Fang, but he was just staring at my hand, just a shocked and not covering it up. I glanced around wildly at the others. I curled my fingers and the…fire, that had previously flicked calmly but randomly around my hand, now concentrated into a mass, a fireball, in the cage of my palm and fingers.


	4. Danger

**First of all, I would really like to thank EVERYONE who reviewed my crossover. They were all really pleased, and I was dancing around like a goon a moment ago. Coz I'm just cool like that. There are going to be fight scenes, so don't worry about that; can't have Max Ride without awesome fight scenes!!! If the first fight scene is not in this chapter, it's probably going to be in chapter 5. I really don't know what's happened to Total, but I think he could be staying at Dr M's. I could bring him back with a really funny entrance though if you wanted; can you imagine Carlisle's face as he opened the door and a cocky little Scottie strutted in, mumbling about how he was being ignored?! Lol! I've already figured out the ending, and I think it's the sweetest ending ever, so we'll just have to see what you think when I've finished. Won't be finished for a while though, so don't worry, all those who love me!!**

**Little extra, calling all EXTREME FAX LOVERS!! (AKA proper making out. No sex) I've got other fanfics on the go at the moment and one of them has that kind of Fax in the second chapter, so let me know if you want me to post it. I've also got another one which has a scene that I have nicked (but also slightly adapted, so gimme some credit) from Twilight. Let me know.**

**Fly on, NitnatRide. (sorry for the long intro, I get carried away)**

**Chapter 4: Danger**

**Max's POV**

Crap. Crap, crap, crap, crap, CRAP! I screamed, and ran, straight out the door, with my hand still burning. I could feel the power in me now, and because it was new, it was desperate to show off what it got. It was fighting the boundaries I was desperately pushing against it, as it was trying to break free and roam my whole body, not just my hand. My adrenaline and fear didn't help my situation; if I was gonna blow, I had to do it outside, where nothing flammable was near me. I remembered there was a clearing just before the road that led to the Cullens' house, so I concentrated on getting there.

I burst out of the house, trying to push down the feeling of relief that I was out of there, so as not to give my power any sign of my weakness. I launched myself into the air, ignoring the worried cries of my name I was hearing from just behind me. They sounded like they stayed on the ground though, so either they couldn't fly (i.e. the Cullens), or the flock were sensible enough not to follow me. I sure hope so.

I raced through the sky, the fire still raging on my hand and inside me. The clearing I was searching for finally appeared into view, and I couldn't help it…I was relieved, and let go. My power suddenly exploded painfully inside of me, finally capturing my wings, and I cried out, tumbling awkwardly from the sky. I landed in a heap, hard, but the pain was nothing compared to the pain from my power. I tried desperately to regain control over it, to rope it back in, but it burst through my defences, and I heard myself scream. My whole body was literally on fire, yet I was burning in a different way, and the fire, my fire, pulsed out from me in a dome to almost the boundaries of the clearing. I could feel that my clothes had all been scorched to nothing, and I was about to curse from my exposure, but I just didn't have the strength. I fell forwards onto my face, and blacked out.

**Bella's POV**

Edward carried me on his back, after I had refused to be left behind. I needed to find that girl; if it wasn't for me, she wouldn't have had to worry about hurting us and her family. That's what Edward said she was thinking. She had to get away from us before her power became too much for her. We were rushing through the forest, Edward following her strange scent in the air, as we saw her flying away so she hadn't touched anything in the forest.

I felt Edward suddenly stiffen, and a sudden pressure change made my ears pop, not painfully but noticeably. A sound much like wind rushing down a narrow funnel reached my "under-sensitive" ears (quote from Emmett), and Edward put on speed, racing towards the source.

We reached a clearing in the forest, and right in the middle lay the girl. She was stark naked, probably from an outburst of her power.

"Oh, my God," I whispered, shocked and guilty.

As soon as Edward dropped me at the edge of the clearing, probably meaning that he wanted me to stay there, I ignored him and raced over to him. Edward didn't stop me though. As soon as I got to Max, I took off my jacket and covered her up as much as I could with it, and Edward did the same with his tan jacket. He took out his cell phone, calling Carlisle and telling him to follow his scent through the forest to get here. I still knelt by Max, stroking her hair and tentatively running my fingers over her wings, and the join at her shoulder-blades.

But as I was stroking her hair, a piece of her hair moved, and revealed something underneath, right at her roots. I pulled the piece of hair out of the way, and examined it; the roots of hair were slightly redder than the rest of her hair (**Sorry if you guys were expecting an expiration date or something, but I couldn't resist, what with the whole Fang-liking-red-heads thing)**.

"Edward," I called my love over. He looked over to where I was pointing, holding her hair up so the under-side of her hair was exposed. "D'you think it's from her power? You know, fire, red," I made the connection suggestively.

"It could be," he agreed.

We waited for another few minutes before Carlisle came, and we covered her up as much as possible, then we carried her back to the house. As soon as we got in, Alice and Bella took her upstairs to get her dressed, whilst Carlisle followed them so he can check her conditions discreetly. The flock's faces as we brought her in though…I have only cried once since I have been a vampire, and that was when Bella was almost killed by James, but their expressions could have made _**Emmett**_ break down. We didn't cry though, we needed to keep it together for them, to tell them that everything was going to be alright. Or God give them mercy.

**Fang's POV**

The Cullens brought Max in, all wrapped up in their jackets or something like that, and I thought it was because they didn't want us to see her injuries or something. Then I saw a bit of her skin, which was untouched, and realised she had not clothes of her own. Oh, shit; her fire got out. Crap, she could have burnt herself! We need to get her help! Oh, why the hell did she take off like that? I would be freakin' out too if my hand spontaneously combusted, but I wouldn't run away! I thought it was quite cool.

Bella and Alice carried Max up some more stairs, probably into a room to get her decent, and Carlisle followed to check up on her. A few minutes later, Carlisle came back down with Alice, but no Bella or Max. The doctor and the girl told us all that Max was fine, and just in need of some rest.

"Her body is physically fine," Carlisle explained. "No burns, no injuries from the fall, nothing. But her power has completely drained her of energy, and may continue to do so every time she uses it for the next few months or so. Bella is staying up there with her, as she may need someone to talk to. She will probably request that one of you come up to her, so she can talk to you as well. She needs rest though, and will be down in a few hours."

True to his word, Max came down two hours and seventeen minutes later, but without asking for one of the flock to be sent up. Bella had her hand on Max's back, steadily urging her forward. Max entered with her head down, not making eye contact with anyone, least of all me. I could see red marks on her cheeks, and realised she had been crying. Jeez, Max is really losing her touch here. This place is messing with her. But as usual, good-old-Max got straight down to business, explaining her view.

"I didn't ask for any of you to be brought up," she told the flock specifically, "because I thought you would think I was an idiot for running off like that."

Gazzy tried to lighten the mood. "You're usually running off though, Max. We're used to it now." Max smiled and opened her arms to the flock, they all rushed to her, crushing her beneath their embraces, then when they finally let her go, she pointedly came over to me, making a point that I wasn't going to be ignored. I half-smiled at that, knowing that Max did care for me, and I held her as tight as she was holding me. The moment felt complete, and I was glad to have Max back as one of us. She pulled back, and sat down beside me, facing the audience, and began to explain.

"The reason I ran away was because I could feel my power beginning to grow, and I didn't want anyone to be hurt by it. So I wanted to get as far away from here as possible, so I didn't burn anything down." She blushed – she actually freakin' blushed! She looked so cute! Whoa, back up, Fang. "But I didn't think about my clothes."

"Neither would I if my hand was on fire," I reminded her.

She smiled gratefully at me, and I returned my own version. "How far did you fall?" I continued.

She shrugged, then looked at me. "Did you really think I'd be paying attention to that?"

"True," I flipped my eyebrows once.

"So, has the power gone now?" Esme asked. She had quite a pretty voice.

Max shook her head. "No, it's still there, but weaker obviously. I was meant to come down sooner, but I was scared that my power could get out again. Because it still can. I'm trying to learn how to control it."

We all sat in silence for another minute or two, but that awful, dreaded sound ("parading round and round and round…" forget it; it's a poem I read once) interrupted our reunion. One word for you, and you'll be able to guess who/what it was: buzzing.

**Max's POV**

Bella was the last to hear it, understandably. The flock looked instantly alert / pi-uh-annoyed / determined / protective. The Cullens looked plain confused.

"What's that sound?" Rosalie asked (wow, she spoke for the first time. Good sign).

"One of the bad things we told you about," I replied. The flock all jumped off their seats, fighting stances in front of the Cullens, death-glaring at Fang as he tried to help himself up. "You. Stay. There."

"She's right, Fang," Carlisle agreed with me. "Stay down if you ever want to fly again."

All the vampires got up, shaking their muscles loose and standing beside us, ready. I looked at them all gratefully, then almost slapped myself on the forehead.

"Guys, we need to take this outside," I told my flock. "This is someone's home."

We all started heading downstairs, quickly making our way outside to face the Flyboys. They hadn't shown themselves yet, but they were getting nearer.

"But don't get too far away from the house," I continued. "We need to protect Bella and Fang, and we can't leave them any gap to slip through." I turned to Edward, who was beside me. "Any other ways through to that room besides the windows?"

He shook his head, looking directly forwards. "Not unless they go through the walls."

They came over the rise finally, and Edward growled shortly. I glanced at him confused.

"I don't like robots; I can't read their minds to figure out their next moves."

I made a quick assessment how "positions" would work out between all of us. I figured that we should surround the house, and I reminded myself that Edward and I both had people in that house that we loved and were unable to defend themselves as well as we were. I momentarily removed my mind-blocks.

_Edward, we both have someone in that room that we love more than life itself _(sweet isn't it?),_ so I think we should be the ones guarding the window-entrance. Think that's a good idea?_

Edward nodded once, then voiced this to the others, quietly mind, in case one of the Flyboys were carrying cameras or earwigs. We quickly redistributed ourselves, surrounding the house protectively, Edward and I just below the window into the lounge. I made a quick safety-glance up to the window, and saw Bella quickly rushing over and sliding the patio door closed.

"Smart kid," I muttered, congratulating her.

But the Flyboys still didn't attack, and us defenders were getting tenser by the second. Edward decided to end it our side; he casually but cautiously dropped his fighting stance, bent down and picked up a large rock. He tossed it up and caught it once, then threw it as hard as he could at the most concentrated area of Flyboys. They all practically disintegrated on impact.

"Nice move," I murmured to him. He grinned at me.

Edward's attack seemed to kick the Flyboys into gear, and three of them leapt from their ranks, headed straight for Edward. I could hear Bella screaming _**through the freakin' glass!!!**_ I jumped up and spun sideways, placing my hands on a stunned Edward's shoulders, breaking them all with _**one**_ roundhouse kick. I landed on Edward's other side with three dysfunctional Flyboys at his feet. He whipped his head to look at me, his mouth open slightly, gazing at me. He then blinked whilst flipping his eyebrows.

"You too," he said. I smirked, then glanced up at the window. Bella was staring at me with more visible shock than Edward, and I just winked at her. I then noticed someone in the background: Fang. He was still on the couch though. Poor Bella; he must have been pestering her something awful before she finally agreed to try and drag the couch to the window. I waved at him cheerfully, until I was pulled out of my ironically happy mood when Edward called me. I turned to face the Flyboys again, and I realised there was more than I first realised. I cursed under my breath, and I could feel Fang's worried gaze boring into the back of me, analysing all the moves he would do to protect me if he was in that fight. If he comes out, I will kill him myself.

Oh, crap; this could get messy.


	5. Practise

**Chapter 5: Practise**

**Iggy's POV**

The little one called Alice was constantly close to me, seemingly a little protective, but I wasn't complaining. She kept whispering enemy positions to me, so quietly only my ears would hear. I didn't feel much pain throughout the fight; every time a fist or foot or knee made contact, the Flyboy seemed to be dragged off me forcibly. So I simply threw punches and kicks in each and every direction Alice told me to throw them in.

_Oh, God, where the hell is Max?_ I thought. _ I don't need her help, but I want to make sure she's safe._

I felt a Flyboy grapple onto my back, and soon heard a fist come in contact with it, and it was wrenched off me.

"I got your back, big brother," a strong female voice reassured me.

"Max! Thank God, I didn't know if you were safe or not!"

I heard her breathe in to speak, but she was cut off. By a scream we all knew too well.

"Max!"

Angel. Crap.

**Fang's POV (he's still watching from inside)**

Crap. Double-crap.

**Gazzy's and Nudge's POV**

Crap. Oh, major crap.

(Nudge) That is the shortest sentence I have ever thought.

**Max's POV**

Oh, crap. Oh, shit. Oh, SHIT!!!

"Angel!" I screamed. I started rushing forwards, but realised I was too far away to do anything; they would kill her straightaway if I moved now. The burly one, Emmett, and his partner – Rosalie, I think – crouched down into an offensive stance, snarling viciously. The rest of us just froze, staring. The Flyboys had fallen back, nearer to the trees, but the one near the front of the rank was holding Angel's head up by her hair, holding a short knife to her exposed throat.

Oh, Angel. My baby, please, no. No, not her, please God. Wake up, Max, think of something. Please, help me think of something. Anything. Just don't let her get hurt, please, please, please. My baby, my little –

"Nudge!" Angel suddenly cried out. I woke up from my trance, and looked over to where Nudge… used to be. I felt the pressure change slightly, making my ears pop, and the others gasped. I whipped my head around to what they were looking at, and saw Nudge, right by Angel and yanking her, painfully, out of the Flyboy's grasp. She then held onto Angel and…disappeared.

"Max, we still can't take them all," Nudge's voice made me jump; she was right beside me, holding Angel. Teleportation. Well, waddaya know people.

"Yes, we can," I disagreed. "Now that Angel isn't in there, I can do this."

And I breathed in, deeply, waking up my new-found power. I signalled for the others to back off, and they did. My power rose in me, fed by the fury of what the Flyboy had done to _**my**_ Angel. I made it concentrate on one area; I unfolded my wings just in time for them to catch fire. I heard numerous gasps, and brought them as far back as I could, stretching. Then I swept them forward as fast as I could. The fire left my wings, spreading out in a wave in front of me, and completely engulfing the Flyboys, melting them instantly. But they were too near the trees, and the fire threatened to catch the trees. I had to stop it; if the trees caught fire, we were all done for.

So I called out to it, physically and mentally grabbing it and holding it back. My arm muscles were burning, and my head was tense with the strain of controlling this much power. I could feel my feet slipping slowly forward, but I still held on, yanking the fire back towards me. Okay, I only had two options: either I bring the power and the fire back into my body, which would torture me with pain, drain me of energy, and could kill me. Fine. Option 2, I get the fire to die down of its own accord, which would still drain me of energy. I choose option 2, but don't you tell the others that option 1 is a last resort; they would kill me for even considering it.

I saw that the fire coped whichever mood I was in: when I was desperately trying to hold it back, it was struggling to be free just as desperately, but when I was considering my options, I was distracted, but it was easier to hold. So I forced myself to take a deep breath and close my eyes, ignoring my screaming muscles. I conjured calming thoughts into my mind: Fang sitting conscious on the Cullens' couch; sitting around a campfire (ironic, huh?), lazily lying back and staring into the flames; soaring leisurely through the air on a warm air current…

I peeked out from under my eyelids, and saw the fire slowly reducing to mild embers. I concentrated on reducing them more, and when I opened my eyes again, I saw small sparks on the forest floor. And as the fire's energy dissipated, so did mine. I fell to my knees, then sideways, the back of my head thumping on the floor.

**Carlisle's POV**

I was too preoccupied in staring at the mass of defaced metal surrounding us that, even though I am a vampire, Max fell to the ground before I could catch her. Angel detached herself from Nudge, rushing over to the only mother she had ever known. She called the blind boy over, telling him the clock-reference from is point of view, and he turned in that direction, crouching by Max's form. He checked her for injuries, but I could tell that that was all he knew what to do. So I walked over, calmly because I could already hear Max's regular heartbeat and breathing, and knelt beside him, taking his hand in mine.

"First, you have to check for a pulse," I pressed his two fingers to just above Max's collarbone. "Can you feel it?"

"Yes," Iggy sighed in relief. I then brought his hand up to her mouth, letting him feel her breath on his fingers.

"Then you check if they are breathing. Do you know CPR?" He nodded. "Well that's what you do when those vitals aren't there. She's fine, she's just unconscious. My guess is that that took a lot of effort."

And for the second time in two days, I picked an unconscious avian-bird-kid into my arms and carried her into our house.

I passed the lounge to reassure Fang that Max was okay, and I saw him visibly relax. I never saw Bella move faster than when Edward returned to the lounge. She quickly skirted around the couch, gripping it in case she tripped, and launched herself at Edward, throwing her arms around him. He chuckled lightly at her unnecessary worry, but returned the embrace, pressing his face into her hair. I smiled at my "son", swelling with happiness, again, at the fact that he had someone so special to him.

I carried Max upstairs, laying her onto Edward's couch with Edward and Bella right behind me, Bella almost clinging onto Edward. We all knelt beside Max, and Bella started pulling Max's hair out of her eyes, smoothing it down. I looked at her, and briefly caught a look in her eyes. I didn't even need to be able to read her mind to know what she was thinking; she thinks she owes Max her life, because Max saved the core and purpose of it: Edward. I touched her hand briefly, giving her a 'don't-do-anything-irrational' look, and she nodded slightly, understanding. Edward was looking away when this exchange was given, but I still carefully kept my mind blocks up; Edward would be very angry if he knew Bella was thinking such things.

I returned my attention back to the bird-girl, and blinked. I frowned and leaned closer, catching Bella's hand gently.

"What is it, Carlisle?" she asked softly, just in case the children downstairs were listening.

Edward turned around, hearing Bella's inquiry, and walked to my side. I still gazed at Max, holding a lock of her hair. Now that I looked more closely, it was almost everywhere; about a third of her hair was the same. A slight tinge of red was seeping through her dark blonde shade.

"Yes, we first noticed that on her roots, on the underside of her hair," Edward informed me. I quickly created a theory, based on that information.

"I think that, maybe, the more she uses her power, the more of her hair will turn red." I looked at her hair again, noticing a considerable darkening in the red. "And that colour isn't there instantly, but it fades in fast."

"What does?" a faint, weak voice came from the owner of afore-mentioned hair.

**Max's POV**

I first noticed how _**heavy**_ I was. My brain was definitely functioning because the first thought that popped into it was 'God, I need to lose some weight.' What can I say; a girl's first instinct is to find a fault in herself.

I then started hearing some kind of incoherent humming. The humming gradually grew into murmurs, but still nothing understandable. It took another few minutes for the murmurs to develop.

"…but it fades in fast." I recognised the vamp-doctor's voice. I tried to lift my tongue off the bottom of my mouth.

"What does?" I tried to resist groaning; my voice sounded too husky, weak, and I was slurring my words slightly.

"God, I sound like a drunken _**man**_," I thought aloud. That earned me a few chuckles from my audience. I attempted to sit up, eyes still closed, but a pair of gentle hands pushed me back down. They were warm and didn't show any over-control on the gentleness: human hands. Bella.

"Be honest," I croaked. "How awful do I look?"

"Not that bad, actually," Bella promised me. "Just exhausted."

I lay there, letting the events of the battle (I don't know how long ago that was) come flooding back to me. One particular incident woke me up again. Guess which one.

"Oh, my God, Nudge! Angel!"

"They're all fine," Edward's voice was suddenly there. "Although Fang is sulking because he didn't get to fight. He says that if he was there, that incident with Angel wouldn't have happened."

I smiled weakly, thinking how Fang- and _**un**_-Fang-like that sounded at the same time. But I also noticed a hint of humour and expectation in the air.

"Nudge won't shut up about her new power, will she?" I expected that that was the change in atmosphere.

Edward chuckled again. "No," he agreed. But the tense and expectant atmosphere was still lingering, and it seemed to be focussed around me.

"What?" I asked, knowing they would understand.

I pushed myself up fully, gently brushing the restraining hands aside, and reassuring them with my eyes that I was feeling better. Then I changed the look in my eyes to demanding, looking at each of them in turn. Finally Carlisle sighed, and turned away for a second, before returning with a mirror in one hand. It was big enough that I would be able to see my face.

_Oh, God,_ I thought. _I've got scars, haven't I? I've got scars on my face, so I'm even uglier._

But Carlisle them held the mirror in front of my face…and I blinked. And again. And again. And I gaped at the girl in the mirror, but she did the same. I lifted my hand to my face, and the girl copied me, touching her stunned face.

"How?" I squeaked.

"We think it's your power."

About a third of my hair, my familiar, dull, dirty-blonde hair, was covered with some auburn colour, almost a dark crimson, which was shimmering brightly in the room, which was covered with windows. I caught a lock of my hair, twirling it through my fingers and pulling it in front of me to gaze at it with my own eyes, not through the mirror. It was still that same red. Hmm…it looked quite good red, and it was definitely shinier, which was a plus. No wonder Fang…preferred…red…heads. Oh, Gods. Oh, no, oh crap, ugh! He's already fallen for me so badly, and now here I am with _**red**_ hair, his personal _**dream**_! Great, I'm trying to save us from a relationship because of what the School could do if it found out, and here I am with a huge neon sign above my head flashing 'Hey, Fang, I know you want this! Come and get it!' Well, at least some of my hair was still the same; it just looked like highlights, but really noticeable highlights. Oh, God, even worse; maybe even _**more**_ guys will try and hit on me whenever I go out.

"Max?" Bella's voice yanked me out of my shocked and miserable trance. I jerked my head to look at her. "Are you ready to go down? It's better done sooner than later."

I sighed, but nodded my head reluctantly. I stood up, and Bella reached an arm out to me without touching me, symbolising that she was there to catch me if I collapsed. I smiled at her gratefully, but shook my head to reassure her that I wasn't going to fall any time soon. Halfway down the stairs, I stopped just behind the wall so the rest of the flock still couldn't see me. I pressed my back against the wall, and turned to Edward with pleading eyes, jerking my head past me for him to go first. He grinned at me, then patted my arm as he passed me. He walked into the lounge, followed by Carlisle and Bella, who had both winked at me as they passed me. I heard my flock making enquiries as to how I was, and Edward answered them.

"She is perfectly well, and conscious. She is in fact hiding behind the wall on the staircase, because something about her is different. She's just working up the courage now." Damn him and his honesty. "Max, would you like to come round to show the others."

I took a deep breath, held it, then walked around, my head bent low so my new hair would cover my face. I heard many of them gasp, and raised my head slightly to look at their reactions. Every single mouth belonging to my flock was on the floor, except Iggy's, but his fell just seconds later as Angel sent him a mental picture. I flicked my eyes to Fang, and he was utterly frozen, eyes wide, jaw on the ground, not even blinking like the others. His cheeks grew redder, ever so slightly, so his brain was functioning enough to be embarrassed about his current physical state, but not caring enough to do anything about it. Yeah, that's basically Fang when his eyes set on a red-head. I clenched my teeth at the memory of the Red-Haired-Wonder and Brigid. No doubt, he'd prefer _**them**_ because they're _**full**_ red-heads.

**Fang's POV**

Oh. My. Freakin'. Hark. Excuse me whilst I drool over Max. One word to sum up how she looked: H-O-T! Great, being around her was going to be even harder for me now, because I'd have to use everything I had so as not to just grab her and kiss her in front of everyone. That's kind of what I was feeling right now. Lissa had got _**nothing**_ on Max. She never did in the first place; Max slaughtered her from the start. Now, she'd just topped it off and filled in her grave. Then danced on it. I would gladly have joined her dancing right now; I can't believe I ever kissed that slut!

Why did Max look all tense and frustrated? She probably thought her hair made her look stupid, but wow. I thought she was great-looking to start with, but now…damn.

Nudge's non-stop mouth jerked me out of my musing.

"Fang? Fang! Hello-oo? Earth to Fang?"

I decided to be real smooth and say something that would cover up the fact that I was ogling at Max: "Huh?"

Iggy snickered, Nudge rolled her eyes and Max hid her face again, but not before I realised that her face was practically the colour of her highlights.

"I was saying," Nudge distracted me from Max – again, "that Max needs to change her wardrobe now because her hair colour has changed, and her clothes probably won't go with her new hair-colour, so we totally need to go shopping to get her a new wardrobe and –"

"Nudge," I interrupted her, earning 'thank-you' looks from the rest of the flock. "We're on the run; do you really think Max can carry a wardrobe on her back? She doesn't have a wardrobe."

The room was silent whilst Nudge digested and – fingers crossed – accepted this; I really didn't want to go to the mall, and I knew Max well enough to know that it would be torture for her as well. Evil scientists with needles had nothing on Nudge in a mall.

"That's a very good point, Fang," Esme said. "But I'd be careful; some girls nowadays could take that as you saying that they don't have any taste either."

I blinked, shocked at my mistake. "No, I didn't mean that," I assured Max quickly, whilst I tried to ignore how her smirk was making my heart react. "I just meant that you don't have many clothes – none of us do – because we always have to run away."

Max shook her head and looked away, still smirking. I made sure no one was looking at me before I turned my head to the ceiling, scowling at myself and yelling curses through my head. A male laugh trying to be covered with a laugh caused my head to jerk back down, and I saw the bronze-haired one, Edward, covering his mouth, unsuccessfully smothering a smirk. I narrowed my eyes at him, deliberately putting my mind blocks up. Then I have a shocking realisation. I drop my mind blocks for a moment, glaring at Edward again.

_Were you listening to my thoughts when Max came down the stairs?_

He flicked his eyes to me, and nodded slightly, and I resisted the urge to groan as he grinned at me. _Tell anyone and you're dead!_ He raised his eyebrows at me, giving me a look that said I was missing something obvious.

_Yeah, yeah, I get that you're practically dead anyway, really strong, really fast, and can read my mind, but still…I'd find a way._

Edward looked sceptically at me, before turning his head away, grinning again. If he told Max, I swear to God…but Bella was nice, and I didn't want to upset her for something he did.

I turned my head back to Max…oh, God; this stay is going to be fun.


	6. Late Night chat and hidden talents

**Hey, guys. I warn you, Bella might seem a little OOC in this chapter, but I just think it will be really funny. I've already got this story more or less planned out, as well as many other fanfics, and I've got a FAXY one on the go. I'll try to get it up ASAP.**

**Fly on, **

**Nitnat Ride**

**Chapter 6: Late night chat and hidden talents**

**Max's POV**

The rest of that day was pretty uneventful compared to that morning. We sat in the Cullens' lounge just talking, although it was mostly Nudge and Alice discussing what I should wear from now on. The Cullens were rolling their eyes at Alice, and the Flock were rolling their eyes at Nudge. Edward's eyes and mine met for a moment, and I dropped my mental blocks for a second.

_One was bad enough._

He smirked and nodded in agreement.

Fang spent most of his time being silent – shocker – except for his indifferent one-word answers when the motor mouths asked his opinion on an explained clothes combo. This seemed to annoy them, for some reason, and they turned their heads to the heavens in frustration after every "Fang-response".

Once or twice, my eyes and Fang's met, and his expression softened, his mouth lifting slightly in one corner. I kept trying to look away quickly, hoping that the light reflecting off my new hair would explain the redness on my face, but you just can't have Fang smile at you, no matter how small, and not smile back, can't look into his midnight eyes without getting lost.

_**Then how come everyone else seems to manage?**_

I jolted out of my daydream, tensing in the couch. The Voice's entry startled me because I hadn't heard from it since Jasper's attack.

_Hey, Voice. By the way, thanks for warning me about Jasper._

_**Saying that had to hurt.**_

_Agonisingly_, I agreed.

_**Your welcome, Maximum. Although I am sorry Fang got hurt.**_

_Me too, Voice. Me too._

I suddenly heard a groan, and I looked up, worried that Fang might be in pain again. But instead I saw Edward frowning, his head in his hands, as if in pain. Bella's eyes were wide with something close to fear.

"Edward, what is it?" Her voice was at least two octaves higher. But Edward just lifted his head, looking straight at me, and groaned,

"You were confusing enough to start with."

I immediately understood; Edward was listening to my thoughts, and he had heard two voices in my head. Hmm…might have forgotten to mention that.

"My bad, Edward. I should have told you all earlier."

"Voice?" Fang asked me, understanding first. I nodded at him.

"Long story short, I have a freaky, mostly annoying but sometimes helpful, voice in my head. It mostly tells me what to do next in whichever situation I'm in. It also warned me just before Jasper attacked."

Jasper dipped his head, still ashamed. Emmett, being Emmett, recovered first, and grinned suddenly.

"Whoa, and I thought _**you**_ were messed up, Bella."

Edward growled playfully at his brother; Bella looked, unsuccessfully, for something nearby to throw at him; and Alice slapped him on the upside of the head, reminding me freakishly of me. Emmett rubbed the back of his head, still grinning. I saw Angel and Gazzy biting their fingers to stop themselves from laughing, but I could see their shoulders shaking.

"Guys," I warned them. That set them off. They rolled around on the floor, tears pouring down their faces.

"I'll give you something to laugh about," Bella threatened, standing up and walking over to them, smiling. They shrieked, but Gazzy was too slow to move, and Bella caught him in her arms, tickling his sides. He tried to escape, but she rolled him back to her, whilst the rest of us were laughing without the aid of a tickle. Bella rolled over, carrying Gazzy over her, then stopped suddenly, much to the appreciation of the Gasman. She sat up, then put her hands under Gazzy's arms, lifting him up again.

"Whoa," she said. "You are so light."

"Yeah," I agreed. "We're like that, because our bones and muscles are made hollow, or just lighter, so it's easier to fly."

"How much do you weigh, Max?" Bella pressed.

"Little over 100 pounds."

"Holy crow," Bella was stunned.

Then Esme used some of the few groceries in the Cullen household to cook dinner for us birdkids. Surprisingly, she made enough for us first time round; maybe she asked Edward to find out about our "dietary requirements". But Iggy smirked at me when we were eating, clearing his mouth before he spoke.

"Feel the burn of embarrassment, Maximum," he said solemnly. "Someone who doesn't even _**eat**_ can cook better than you."

Everyone laughed, even me, although Fang just smiled instead. "I already felt that burn when I found out a _**blind**_ kid can cook better than me." Iggy smiled again, and tipped an imaginary hat to me.

"You're the cook?" Alice asked, looking at Iggy.

He nodded modestly. "Almost every night, except when we have some cash to spare, then we splash out at a take-away or something like that."

"What do you eat usually, then?" Emmett queried.

"Usually, the local birdkid delicacy of…roasted rat."

"Eugh! That's disgusting!" Bella cringed. The flock merely laughed.

Gazzy also got the chance to show the Cullens his annoying talent of perfect imitation. Bella suddenly realised that she hadn't called her dad all day, and he would probably be wondering where she was. But she explained to us that her dad and Edward weren't on the best of terms, so she couldn't exactly tell her dad that she was at the Cullens'. However, her dad wouldn't really believe her if she just said that she was at a friend's house and not have any proof. So Gazzy, being the little angel (coughfatchancecough), decided to help her out.

"Who would your dad more like you to be with?"

Bella thought for a moment, was about to say a name, but then stopped herself, glancing quickly at Edward. She came up with a second name.

"My friend Angela."

"OK, what does she sound like?"

Bella blinked, puzzled, but pulled out her phone and showed us a quick, friendship video on her phone. Angela had a calm but high voice, though not piercing. Gazzy drank the sound up, then nodded.

"OK, now call your dad, saying that you're at Angela's and ask if he would like to speak to her. When he says yes, pass it to me."

Bella looked really confused now, but she did as he asked, spoke to her dad for a while, explaining that she was going to stay overnight, and then passed it to Gazzy.

"Hi, Mr Swan," Gazzy said, a perfect projection of Angela's voice.

Each of the Cullens froze, staring at Gazzy. Eventually, once they started moving again, Rosalie pressed her lips together, fighting a smile. Some of the others bit their fingers, trying not to laugh and give the game away. Gazzy continued to respond to questions and sentences given by Charlie, Bella's dad, and finally put the phone down. As soon as he did, the Cullens gave up their fights and completely broke down laughing, Bella included.

"That's amazing," Edward said, once he'd regained some control. "Can you do anyone's voice?"

"Anyone's," Gazzy agreed in Edward's voice.

"Trust me, it isn't brilliant when he's doing an impression of you and making people think you've said utterly embarrassing," I put in quickly, before Gazzy did an impression of me saying lovey-dovey stuff about Fang.

But now, I was sitting here, next to Fang's sleeping figure, watching a piece of hair shift about in his breath, watching how the sunset caught his olive-skinned cheek. Everyone else had gone to bed, and some of the Cullens were out hunting, whilst others were simply up in their rooms. I closed my eyes yet again, bringing to mind all the times Fang and I had shared, the looks and smiles that passed between us, his being more precious and beautiful than mine could ever be. I looked back down at the pad of blank paper resting on my lap, the sketch pencil in my hand, the rough outline of mine and Fang's bodies, me in Fang's embrace, from that incident on the beach, when I'd tried to take my chip out. Reflexively, I looked down at the white scar on my wrist, then looked quickly away again, remembering the look on Fang's face and the way he had shouted at me. I quickly turned over to a clean page, projecting one of Fang's rare smiles from my mind to the page. It was rough at first, and didn't look much like him, but then I used the pencil to shade in parts of his hair and skin, the bits between his teeth, the tiny ridges in his sometimes-cracked lips…

"That's really good," a voice from behind me startled me. I spun around to see Rosalie standing over me, looking down. She looked apologetic.

"I'm sorry; I didn't mean to scare you."

"It's OK," I reassured her, since I was quite proud that she thought my work was good. She smiled at me, genuinely, which was a surprise, and sat down beside me on the couch.

"You really care about him, don't you?" she asked after a few more minutes of uneasy silence.

I froze, staring at Fang, and knowing full well that Rosalie didn't mean in the kind of brother-sister way. She meant the kind of way that Bella is to Edward.

"Yes, I responded reluctantly. "But admitting it to him might get us into trouble."

"Ransom or threats from your enemies," Rosalie offered, understanding me entirely. How did she understand me like this? And why is she being nice to me now? Hang on…

"Angel looks a lot like you," I blurt out. I covered my mouth up almost immediately, realising that I was really stupid to just point out the obvious. Rosalie froze though, just like I had, and continued to stare into empty space. I just continued my sketch of Fang, uneasy about her response, but she replied.

"Yes," god, she sounded so much like me. "Yes, she does, and don't think I haven't noticed." She sighed. "Emmett and I usually stand by Angel's side when she's asleep, because she looks so much like me. You see, I have always wanted to have a child, but, being what I am…" she grimaced "…my body is unable to change in the ways that is necessary for pregnancy."

"Angel reminds you of a child you want," I state calmly, but inside I am reeling at this information, with shock and understanding and sympathy. I had wondered why Emmett and Rosalie seemed to warm to Angel so quickly. They liked Gazzy as well, because they look so alike, but it was mainly Angel. Despite Rosalie's apparent possessive nature to Angel, I understood her completely; the life that she lived was sometimes harder than ours. I reached out with my hand tentatively, not knowing whether she would rather be left alone. I rested it on her shoulder, and she turned to smile at me slightly.

"Just tell him," she returned to the subject of me and Fang. "Or at least get your feelings out onto someone or something else. It's better to get things like this off your back, but don't let it fester for too long."

With that, she got up and returned upstairs, probably to watch over Angel again. I turned back to Fang, then to my drawing, adding the finishing touch to Fang's face. I then scowled at how it didn't look as perfect as his face in real life.

I thought about Rosalie's parting words, and figured that a drawing would be pretty good. But maybe…maybe a poem would be pretty good as well, because that has words, which is the only way to explain how I feel. So I flicked over to the back of Fang's smile drawing, then started writing. It took me a solid hour before I thought I had it about right, and I was exhausted after anyway, so I just decided to leave it. I placed the sketch book on the table beside Fang, and curled up on the couch next to him. I fell asleep with the image of one of Fang's smiles in my head.

**Fang's POV**

I woke up for no good reason. Ugh, I _**hate **_it when that happens! You're just trying to get a few Zs, and then your body just decides 'Right, it's time to wake up now because I feel like getting up'. Stupid avian-hybrid DNA.

I stretched, experimenting how much it hurt. It wasn't that bad, and I remembered Carlisle had told me that I could get up today. I smiled slightly at that thought, relieved that I would be able to stretch me legs, and walk around with the others and Max. Maybe Max and I could walk around together outside, because it just would be nice to walk next to the river near here.

As I pulled my arms back, I knocked something weird on the table next to me. I glanced over at it, then realised it was a sketch pad. I shrugged slightly, telling myself that I may as well, since I had nothing else to do. As I reached over to it, I realised that Max was sleeping on the couch next to me again, and I smiled at how calm her face looked. Then I noticed something; the sketch pad was in a position where Max could have put it on the table, angled so that the base was facing her. I frowned; there's no way…is there?

I picked up the pad, and flicked to the first page…and blinked in amazement. How long had been asleep, coz these masterpieces should have taken _**weeks**_ to complete! They were all in black and white, simple pencil sketches, but the first one was our E-house in Colorado. The sun was shining, and they little kids were flying in the open sky whilst Iggy, Max and I were relaxing drinking sundaes or smoothies or whatever. I turned the page and saw me and Max, in our cages and reaching out through the bars to link fingers. I smiled as I remembered doing that.

The next page had me on, when I was eleven years old, and experimenting with my wings. Max had drawn me as I was on the edge of one of the mountains, wings outstretched, and gazing at the open ground below me. Damn she is good at art. When the hell did she get this good? I turned over again, and there was a perfect sketch of one of my smiles, the linear rubber marks suggesting a lot of effort and thought gone into this one. I froze; I don't know about you, but I'd noticed something. They're all of me. I closed my eyes, and turned the next page, preparing for a perfect copy of Mona Lisa, or something, but I opened my eyes and stared.

The page was stuffed with words in a certain form; a poem I think, they way the lines were structured. I carefully read it, my heart flying at every new paragraph:

**(My kind thanks to DarknessXAnime for this poem; I copied it off your fanfiction account-y thing) Bold = Max's narrative writing in the poem**

FRIENDS: Would bail you out of jail.  
BEST FRIENDS: Would be sitting next to you saying "THAT WAS FRICKING AWSOME! WE ARE SO DOING THAT AGAIN NEXT WEEKEND!"

**Wow, I would expect Iggy, to say that, but not **_**my**_** best friend. But he would sit with me in the cell, no doubt. He's the kind of guy who would stick it out with you, no matter what. That's why I like him.**

FRIENDS: Have never seen you cry.  
BEST FRIENDS: Won't tell everyone else you cried...just laugh about it with you in private when you're not down anymore.

**It's shameful how many times he has seen me cry, but he's never told me to straighten up and fly right, he's just sat there with me, his arms around me, and letting me get my troubles out. He's the only one who understands me, and can see right through me. I love the silent conversations we usually have.**

FRIENDS: Ask you to write down your number.  
BEST FRIENDS: Have you on speed dial.

**If we were human and had cell phones, we would definitely be each other's first contact or speed dial. We could talk for ages, about nothing but the stars, or something cheesy like that. Mind you, I'd do most of the talking. But that's the way he is. And I like him just as him.**

FRIENDS: Borrow your stuff for a few days then give it back.  
BEST FRIENDS: Lose your crap and tell you, "My bad...here's a tissue."

**Oh, do I know what this is like! Except he just shrugs and smirks at me. He's mean like that. **

FRIENDS: Only know a few things about you.  
BEST FRIENDS: Could write a very embarrassing biography on your life story...

**God save me, and him, if he ever does that on his blog. But yes, sadly this is true. I can't even twiddle my thumbs without him noticing it. I've taught him well...And now I sound like Yoda.**

FRIENDS: Will leave you behind if that is what the crowd is doing.  
BEST FRIENDS: Will kick the whole crowd's butt that left you

**Oh, he can kick a butt ten times the size of his foot! Best fighter I have ever seen in my life, and I love it when we have to fight back-to-back. He always wins. The one time he's left me, I felt broken, completely; it was like he ripped my soul out of my body. But he came back, which shows he cares. In one way at least.**

FRIENDS: Would knock on your front door.  
BEST FRIENDS: Walk right in and say "I'M HOME."

**Wherever he is, that's my home. That sounds cheesy, right, but it's true. I'm nothing if not honest…when I need to be.**

FRIENDS: You have to tell them not to tell anyone.  
BEST FRIENDS: Already know not to tell.

**He can see straight through me, and knows me inside out. He knows what to do to make me happy.**

FRIENDS: Are only through high school/college. (aka: drinking buddies)  
BEST FRIENDS: Are for life.

**I hope I live to see the day when Iggy gets drunk. Then me and my best friend could film it, and laugh at him afterwards. Then laugh some more fifteen years later.**

FRIENDS: Will comfort you when the guy rejects you  
BEST FRIENDS: Will go up to him and say 'it's because your gay isn't it?'

**I wish he could have said that to Sam. I didn't even like that wiener, but I wanted to see if I could be accepted by someone different to me. To see if I could trust anyone besides my flock…and him. But then Sam kicked me whilst I was defenceless. Asshole.**

**Confessions of an avian adolescent: my best friend is so much more to me. I am in love with him. If only you could know how good it feels to get that out. So, whoever you are, reading this in some far off century, probably the 25****th**** or something, here's a piece of advice if you're struggling like I am: tell it to their face. That way it's not bottled up, and even if they reject you, which mine probably will, don't feel put off. Maybe they're just not the one. Wish me luck, even though I'm probably dead now.**

**Maximum Ride**


	7. Cupid's Busy

**Chapter 7: Cupid's busy**

**Bella's POV**

I was allowed to sleep in Edward's room, as Max was sleeping next to Fang. The next morning, the kids all woke up at more or less the same time, and those that didn't (coughNudgecough) were kicked awake by Max. Literally.

It was very funny when Emmett walked in though; I hadn't noticed he was gone until he came through the front door and called out 'Morning' to everyone. They all gave their own replies, then he walked in with a pretty huge bag.

"Right," he started. "Well, I have had a look in the movie rental store in Port Angeles, and so…" He fished a few DVDs out of the bag. "Who wants to watch Disney?"

All the younger kids squealed with delight and pushed their chairs back to run up and hug him. It was quite a sight; the huge burly gorilla that was Emmett with little six-year-olds clinging lovingly to his waist.

Max ate her breakfast by Fang's side, and the two were pretty much silent apart from a few questions of 'How do you feel?' by Max, and the general grunt of 'Okay' by Fang. There seemed to be a tension around the couple, and they themselves seemed to notice it, eating their own cereal self-consciously. I looked at Angel, and saw that she was staring at them in the same way I was, and I frowned at her, indicating that I was asking her what they were thinking. She just shrugged in that cute, innocent way that only she can.

But one exchange over breakfast that _**did**_ startle me was the one between Rosalie and Max; their eyes met and Rosalie's eyebrows lifted slightly, and Max nodded once. Rosalie smiled a little back, and then returned to staring out of the window.

After breakfast, Carlisle told the others that Fang could probably get up today, and walk around with them. They were all ecstatic, and looked over to Fang expectantly. Fang suddenly looked really uncomfortable, probably because of all the faces staring at him, but Max turned to him.

"Need help getting up?"

"Maybe," Fang admitted.

Max placed her bowl down on the coffee table next to what looked like a sketch pad – probably Esme's – then put one of Fang's arms around her shoulders and her other arm around his waist. She kept her position merely as a support in case he fell, but he spun his legs over the side of the couch with ease, and showed no pain at all. He then pushed himself up onto his feet and steadied himself with the back of the couch. He stood like this for a while, then Max carefully let him go, obviously ready to catch him if he falls, but he didn't. She then knowingly, and _**very**_ carefully, slid his jacket off his shoulders, which freed his wings for the holes in the T-shirt underneath. He stretched his wings experimentally, and I just about heard Jasper mutter 'Wow'. They were pure black, nothing else, but they had the most impressive span of at least thirteen feet, probably fourteen.

He smiled involuntarily at Max, and she grinned back, shrugging off her own jacket to push her own wings out. The others followed, walking over to where the two eldest were, and stretching their wings. Fang's were the biggest by a margin, followed closely by Iggy, and then Max. I told myself that it was because the guy's had more muscle, so they needed bigger wings.

"Hey!" Angel said indignantly "We have muscle enough."

With that, she pushed her sleeve up to show her upper arm, and tensed her bicep. I've got to admit, I was impressed with the size of her muscles, but I couldn't help but laugh at the image of six-year-old showing off her muscles. It just didn't fit; she looked too cute.

"What were you thinking?" Fang asked me.

"I was thinking that the guys have bigger wings because they have more muscle to carry."

"Yep, that's right," Iggy agreed. "Locked and loaded." He showed his own bicep, but Fang rolled his eyes and patted his brother on the back.

"Not as big as mine, Ig," he said. Iggy turned to look at him, eyebrows raised.

"Oh, yeah? Let's see yours then."

Iggy placed his hand on Fang's upper arm, then told him to 'tense up'. Fang did so, then Iggy's face fell, and he muttered, "Crap."

The others, including Fang, laughed at that, then Max turned to Fang in a challenging stance. "I could beat you any day," she promised.

Fang raised his eyebrows incredulously. "Well, now you could, sure, but not when I'm well."

Max narrowed her eyes at Fang. "We'll see."

It was just after lunchtime, and the little kids were watching the Disney film 'The Little Mermaid', Iggy was getting cookery lessons from Esme, just so she could show him around the kitchen, and Max and Fang had gone for a walk along the river. The river was still on the Cullens' premises, so lucky Max and Fang could show and stretch their wings without anyone seeing.

Edward and I were just standing in the background of the lounge, where the kids were watching the movie on the flatscreen. We got bored, so we walked out onto the balcony to see if we could see Max and Fang. Since his eyes were much better than mine, I asked Edward if he could see them.

"No," he said, regretfully and hopefully at the same time. "I can't hear them either." He then turned to me, smiling. "You're really good with the younger children."

I smiled modestly. "Thanks, but you're no worse." I sighed

"I hope Max and Fang get together," Edward said suddenly.

I looked up. "So they do like each other?" He nodded. "Well, I suppose it is kind of obvious, isn't it?"

"Yes, but Max explained that there are a few dangers in their potential relationship," Edward explained. "She said that the people after her could use one of them against the other; threaten to hurt one if the other doesn't comply."

"Hostage or ransom," I agreed.

Then Edward turned to me pointedly with a 'funny, that' look on his face. "A lot of modern romances seem to include dangers, don't they?" Anyone could guess he was talking about ours.

I smiled in the most seductive way I could, then stepped closer to him. "Yeah, but I don't mind because of the benefits I get."

He smiled in the same way, then flipped his eyebrows before wrapping his arms around my waist and kissing me gently. I was expecting him to pull back, but he didn't, and continued kissing me, getting slightly fiercer with every second. And I was still wanting more; I wrapped my arms around his neck, urging him to stay. We didn't realise we left the door open.

"Get a room, little brother; there are kids in the house," Emmett's smiling voice reached us, destroying our own perfect littler bubble. Edward reluctantly pulled back, but glared and growled at Emmett. He smirked back in reply.

**Max's POV**

Fang and I decided to go for a walk; I suggested it before because I could tell Fang was itching to get outside, as he kept staring wistfully out of the window. We walked along in silence, enjoying each other's company whilst listening to the calming, peaceful tinkling of the river. It was by no means a perfect moment or scene: the dull monochrome sky was the main reason. But there just seemed to be a new layer of awkwardness hanging over the two of us, making me feel very self-conscious. I didn't know about Fang; he seemed as relaxed and casual as usual, save for his tense stance. He was trying to hide the pain he was in – as usual – but I saw through him. I couldn't see any further than that, though I could tell he was really happy that he was outside at last, after two days.

We still walked close to each other, though, still feeling protective of each other. I spotted a willow tree once we were about three miles south of the Cullens' house, and suggested we took a break by it. Fang shrugged silently, then turned away to try and hide his wince as he did so. But I saw it. We made our way over to the afore-mentioned tree, and Fang stretched his wings out along the way, through the holes in his black T-shirt (he had left his jacket behind, insisting that he wouldn't need it).

When we got there, Fang was about to lean back against the thick sturdy trunk, but thought better of it, and simply sank to the floor, crossing his legs. I smiled sympathetically at him, then sat by his side, leaning back on my hands.

"Can I see?" I asked after another few minutes of staring at each other. Fang didn't respond at first, narrowing his eyes at me, then finally sighed exasperated when he saw I wasn't backing down, and turned so his back was to me. I sat forward and carefully lifted up the back of T-shirt. I gently ran my hand over his spine and ribcage, feeling the anomalous lumps of bruised and swollen bones and muscles. I heard him suck in a few breaths, probably from the pain. But he also shivered slightly once or twice. Hmm…told him he needed his jacket…

**Fang's POV**

She always worries about me too much. But, in my opinion, I think letting her look at my back was one of the best decisions of my life: her hands were tracing very gently over the tense knots of muscles. Sometimes it hurt, but most of the time it just felt like I was riding a very fast wind current after getting hyper on glacé cherries **(I love glacé cherries!!!!!!)**. I tried to stay as relaxed as possible, but a few shivers of pleasure managed to slip through my defence. I held my breath, waiting for her to ask me what was up, but she didn't say anything. She ran her fingers further up, just under my wings, and I sighed gently and felt my eyes roll back slightly, but then I blinked and bit my lip, trying to maintain whatever restraint (and dignity) I had left.

"Sorry," she said, but by God, I wasn't. She pulled away, much to my disappointment, but I quickly pulled my T-shirt back down. "I know it must hurt a lot. It's just I wanted to see what happened." She paused, then looked down, biting her lip. "I couldn't bring myself to even look when it happened."

"Hey," I reassured her, turning back around the taking her hands. She looked up at me, curious as to why I was behaving so out-of-character. But I bet _**you**_ all know why I'm doing this. "I'm here now," I promised her. "And I'm pretty close to fine."

"Except you still can't fly," she reminded me. I scowled at her, but she knew it wasn't really real.

"No need to rub it in," I complained.

She half-smiled, kind of like I do, but hers was because it was half-hearted, not because she didn't want to show her emotions. Or at least, I don't _**think**_ it was.

"Anyway," I continued. "I'm not the only one who is reckless; that trick you did with the fire and Angel yesterday was pretty impressive, but stupid." She grinned properly this time, but rolled her eyes at the same time. "I could tell it took a lot of energy to keep it from moving, and I bet my wings that, if you had held on long enough, you would've killed yourself."

She shrugged, uncaring, and I sighed in defeat, letting it go for now. There were more important things to take care of…

**Max's POV**

We sat in silence for a few more minutes, with me inwardly sighing at how he worries too much about me. He always scorns me whenever I do something dangerous, and he only really started doing that when I tried to take my chip out myself. I flinched at the memory, and looked back up at him, checking if he had any sign of pain on his face. But he was simply sitting under the willow, like me, tracing small circles in the grass, but his eyes were tense. Not in-pain tense, but more anticipating tense. I was just about to ask him when he replied for himself:

"You, ah…" he cleared his throat, "…never told me you…were good at…" Oh, God, the apocalypse is coming; Fang is freakin' _**stuttering!**_

"…poetry," he finished, still looking down at his hands.

At first, I couldn't understand what he said at all; poetry? Why the hell would I like poetry, and when have I ever written any, apart from in Antarctica? Oh, wait a second, didn't I write one last night? But…wasn't that about…Fang…and my love for him. Awww, shit.

My face practically set on fire, and I felt the sudden rise in temperature, even with my super-duper-heat-resistant-ness. I glanced down at my hands, and absolutely refused to look up at him. I said, 'absolutely refused to…'. Great, I've looked at him. Well done, Max.

He was staring at me again, and his eyes were completely _**swimming**_ with emotion, and it made them even more beautiful than usual. Usually, I would stop myself in my tracks at that sentence, but I can't deny it anymore. Even he has read it. We continued to get lost in each other's eyes, but my guilt was sparked up when I found confusion and pain in my exploration of him. I frowned at myself, but Fang misinterpreted it.

"Max, I'm sorry, I just saw the book on the side when I woke up and I got curious. I had no idea you would have written something secret like that in it or anything like –"

"Fang!" I stopped him, still too mortified to really be amused at his Nudge-like rant. "I'm not mad at you, promise. It's just…you're probably wondering why I…pushed you away all those times." He sighed and shifted his position to get a little more comfortable. I explained my fears to him; about the blackmail, ransom and if one of us was taken hostage, about us being each other's weakness, and the School would know that.

At the end, he sighed again, letting the reality of it all sink in, and I hung my head, still ashamed for keeping him waiting. He finally looked up at me again, his midnight orbs sucking me in immediately. "Max," he said quietly. "I see your point, I really do, but we're already each other's weakness, and the School would take advantage of that whether they knew it or not; we've all been together for all our lives, so the School would know that we've created attachments to each other, no matter how strong they are. So these troubles don't really count as they're already there, in our situation anyway."

I stared at him in disbelief, comprehension slowly dawning in my mind. He was right; the possible 'situation' – the one that I am begging for right now – wouldn't really be any different than this one, in terms of potential danger. We would be closer, we would get to kiss more often (yaaahhoooo!), but we wouldn't be any more of a threat to each other than we are now. The longer I stayed silent, the bigger Fang's grin got, as he was sensing that I knew he was right. After a few more minutes, he nimbly flipped his feet underneath him then pushed himself onto his feet, and dusted his hands off on his jeans. He then, without bending down, offered his hand to me. The gesture hid a double meaning; the first one was 'C'mon, I'll help you up', and the second one was 'Do you trust me enough to start this relationship?' I hesitated, still mulling over what the flock would think of us if we started this. Well, considering Iggy constantly teases either of us about loving the other one, I figured that he already knows. Angel; she'd be ecstatic, same as Nudge. Gazzy will be…nauseated, but still, I'm sure he'd find it funny and really happy. Just so long as we didn't kiss in front of him.

I grinned suddenly, and very deliberately and knowingly, placed my hand in Fang's. He pulled me up with a little more force than I expected, and I was about to ask him if it was really necessary when, whilst still travelling from the force of Fang's helping hand, my lips collided with his. Oh…I guess it was pretty necessary then. His lips were really soft and gentle, and his spare hand cupped around the back of my head tenderly. He tasted really sweet, but with that certain mystery that best describes Fang. And I loved it. I wrapped my arms, _**very**_ gently, around the back of his neck, standing on my toes to reach him better. I didn't kiss him too fiercely though, for fear of getting too into-it, and then putting pressure on his still-injured back. But he seemed to understand my concern, and didn't do much more than that either. We pulled back after another few minutes, and grinned at each other, but his was more of a smirk. As in a smug 'told-you-so' smirk. I smacked his arm gently, but I was still smiling myself, and we both laughed. It sounded care-free, and just really…happy. Blissful, almost. We let go of each other, all but one hand, and laced our fingers together, then began to walk back up to the Cullens' house.


	8. Another late night chat

**Chapter 8: Late night talk and favours**

**Fang's POV**

When Max and I arrived back at the Cullens' house, we heard Edward laugh and Angel squeal. Edward applauded us and cheered when we walked through the front door, a huge grin on his face, and Angel rushed up to us, her face beaming with joy. The others just looked confused, silently asking the mind-readers what was going on. I decided to answer their questions and leant over to kiss Max lightly on the cheek, making her blush bright red to match her hair.

The others stared at us for a heartbeat, taking in what that sign meant, then they rushed over to us, smiles all around and congratulating us on being together. Jeez, it was like we were getting _**married**_ or something. Bella had stayed by the couch though, and when she got the idea that we were getting together, she squealed and threw her arms around Edward's neck from behind, her standing behind the couch whilst Edward was sitting on it. He laughed and wound his arms around hers as best as he could, kissing her hands to make up for it.

Bella seemed absolutely delighted with the thought of me and Max being together. Apparently, she told us she had been silently hoping for this because "we were the perfect couple".

"Whoa, Bella," Iggy laughed. "I thought Alice was Nudge's twin sister."

"Yes, she isn't usually like this," Edward agreed, smiling.

"Well, it's just good to have something different around here," Bella defended herself.

"Bella, if being chased by god-knows-how-many newborn vampires isn't different enough for you, there's something wrong with you," Jasper laughed.

In the end, Bella, trying to change the subject, asked me and Max what exactly happened that made us get together. Max started from when Rosalie told her to write down her feelings, and wrote it down in the sketch book Esme had given her. I continued for her, saying how I woke up early this morning and just happened to see the book lying in a position that suggested Max had used it. I walked over to the table and picked the book up and, ignoring Max's protests, showed the others Max's work, both the drawings and the poem. They were all stunned at her skill and Esme was particularly impressed. I told everyone how I decided to confront Max about her feelings when we were alone, since I had thought that, if she had taken the leap to recognise her feelings and tell them to a book, then surely it would be time to tell me to my face. She took it from there, saying how she admitted her feelings to me, but explained her fears about what could happen if we started a relationship, and everyone in the room looked at us sympathetically, realising it was true. But then Max confessed that I had a good point about how it would be no different to the one we were in now (or were in back then. Oh, my God, we were actually going out. YES!!)

"Wow, Bella, you seem really hyper. You know who you remind me of? Well, of course you don't know, so I'll tell you; Sharpay Evans from High School Musical, because she's usually really hyper and likes everything to do with fashion. Fashion is one of the most amazing things I think, and that reminds me that we still need to take Max to the mall to get her a new outfit for her new hair." Guess who that was.

"Whoa, Nudge, I think _**you**_ might be Sharpay," Edward chuckled.

Bella turned to him, trying to hold in giggles. "You've watched High School Musical?" Edward just shrugged, but I knew that, if he could, he would be blushing right now.

"You sad, sad boy," Bella shook her head at him

"I am not a boy!" Edward protested. "I was born in 1901, for crying out loud."

"Wow," Gazzy whispered.

"Yeah," Bella accepted. "But in your heart, no matter if it's silent, you're always gonna be a 17 year old kid, because you always have to act like one in front of other humans."

"Yeah," Emmett muttered, laughing. "And he doesn't have much trouble with the acting."

Emmett jumped up suddenly and sprinted off faster than light as Edward followed him, chasing him around with the exiting line of "Run, fatboy, run."

We all started cheering them on, but Esme just gathered enough composure to make a new remark:

"Well, Bella, considering they're chasing each other around the house and gardens because of a simple joke Emmett made, I think you may be right."

Emmett and Edward suddenly appeared in front of us, probably stopping their chase when they heard this, and looked pretty sheepish. "Sorry, Esme," they chorused. They walked back to their seats, but before they separated, Edward quickly slapped Emmett on the back of the head, then darted away to sit next to Bella. Bella giggled at him, then pulled him a 'told you so' look.

"Yeah, yeah, so what if I'm still a kid?" Edward complained.

Bella beamed at him, and wrapped her arms around his torso. "Nothing; I never said I wanted you to grow up."

There was a chorus of awwws as Edward put his arms around her and kissed her head. There were, of course, two 'I think I'm gonna throw up's (Gazzy and Emmett).

"Alright," Edward sighed, turning to Bella. "Do you think you can stay another night?"

Bella nodded. "Tonight and tomorrow morning and afternoon, but I think that's Charlie's limit."

She got up and started to walk towards the stairs. "Night everyone," she called.

We all called after her "Night, Bella," but Iggy said "Night, B." Bella stopped in the doorway.

"What did you call me?" she asked puzzled.

Iggy shrugged. "B, because it's like, y'know, B, Bella…"

Bella paused, then nodded her head, smiling. "Actually, I like that. B, hah!" She turned to go again, and Edward followed her up the stairs. I decided to be brave.

"It's because the girl he fancies is called Ella, and he wants a bigger difference between you two," I called up the stairs.

"Shut up, Fang!" Iggy shouted, landing a perfectly aimed punch right on the top of my arm as two laughs could be heard from upstairs.

**Bella's POV**

Edward and I entered his room still laughing from the comment Fang made. Hmm…Iggy was defensive; he must _**really**_ like her.

I pulled the shorts and T-shirt that Edward had let me use for pyjamas, and slipped into them whilst Edward waited outside the door. I called him in when I was done, and clambered into the double bed he still had in his room. He smiled at me, then bent down to kiss me goodnight, and as soon as his lips touched mine, I was sure that he was going to pull away again. But, like this afternoon, he stayed where he was, and I decided to try again, locking my arms behind his neck. Surprisingly, he climbed onto the bed, carefully avoiding my legs, so he could kiss me more easily. I grabbed fistfuls of his hair, marvelling at how thick, yet how soft, it was. I heard his breathing accelerate as I did this, and I felt a swell of pleasure and pride that it was _**me**_ who was making him breathless.

His hands were gently caressing my face, and I thought, through the haze of pleasure he had created, that I should try to push my luck, and dragged my fingers down the front of his shirt, slowly separating the buttons. My heart fired into overdrive as I realised he must know…yet he wasn't stopping me. I ran my fingers lightly over his ribcage, and he sighed, but he also – and I'm sure he noticed this – moved forward slightly; moved his lips more firmly against mine, shifted his torso closer to mine, pressed his hips more aggressively against mine…and then pulled back.

We were both breathing very raggedly, and he still kept our faces very close, our foreheads touching as well as our noses, but he whispered to me.

"I must go hunting tonight, love," he muttered in between gasps. "I know it sounds like an excuse, but you told me that you wanted this to be done right. And believe it or not, _**I**_ need to be ready for this as well; I need to be fairly confident that I won't hurt you. That means I need to have hunted closely beforehand."

"I know," I confessed. "I don't know why I did that. I'm sorry."

I opened my eyes at the same time as he did – whoa, creepy; I thought he couldn't read my mind – and he smiled at me. He raised his head slightly and kissed my forehead, never looking away from my eyes.

"I never said I blamed you," he reassured me.

I grinned at him. "Yeah, it's not my fault you're so damn sexy."

He laughed along with me. "If I'm sexy, I have no idea what the hell you are. Probably devilish, or something."

We sat in silence, staring into each others' eyes, and seeing everything we will ever need in them. "Aren't you going?" I questioned him after a while.

He shrugged, keeping eye contact. "Just stalling; I love spending as much time with you as possible. To make up for the four months I lost." He sighed, then turned his head up to the ceiling. "Four months! I have no idea how I survived."

I kissed his cheek, and he turned his head down to smile at me, so I kissed the tip of his nose. "Don't think about it," I commanded. "Just go and have a good time hunting, and try not to pick up any more on-the-run bird-kids."

He sighed. "I'll try."

We kissed one last time, then he left the room, hesitating at the door to smile apologetically at me again.

Which left me with an elevated heart-rate, a stubborn longing for him to come back, and the certainty that I will get _**very**_ little sleep. Damn.

I quietly got out of bed and crept to the window, peeking behind the curtain to see Edward and another, bulky blur that could only be Emmett streak off into the woods. I sighed wistfully, then looked around the Cullens' front yard some more, and I glimpsed something strange inside the strong oak that they had. **(I have no idea if the Cullens actually have an oak, but just go with the flow for me.)** I saw two very thin branches with large horizontal slabs on the end, swinging backward and forward rhythmically from one of the lower branches. I smiled when – after squinting for a few minutes – the "slabs" were shoes and the "thin branches" were legs. The rest of the person's body was clad in the same shade as the shadows of the tree, so they blended in very well in the 9pm moonless sky. Fang.

I opened the window, and was about to shout to him when the sound of the middle of a tune being played on the harmonica drifted to my ears. After listening in awed silence for another few minutes, I realised the song was a very skilfully played "Moondance", my favourite variation being the one sung by Michael Bublé. **(Sexiest man of that age on earth. Yeah.)**

I decided to be daring (I didn't want anyone to know that I was still up), and I used one of the tree branches outside my window to climb back down to the ground, and I walked up to the tree, trying not to startle Fang into making him stop the song. The clarity in the eerily silent night sky was impossibly sharp, and it sounded like it was echoing off the stars. Holy crow; I'm only usually this sappy and poetic when Edward's around.

Unfortunately, the song ended, and Fang let his arms fall into his lap, the faint starlight glinting off the silver harmonica. I didn't return to the house though, just in case he started up another song. He didn't though, and I was just about to go back in when:

"Max has tried to sneak up on me so many times, B. Even _**she**_ can't do it."

Fang's voice had the suggestion of a smile in the tone, like he was mocking me because he knew why I was out here. I blushed even though he couldn't see, and he turned around to face me at last, his eyes dancing with a silent chuckle.

"You get a great sound out of that," I commented, mainly telling the truth, but also wanted to distract him from my attempt to remain hidden.

He smiled wider at me. "Thanks. Ella – Max's half-sister – bought it for me one time we were round her house." He looked at me again, then shuffled over, asking, "You need a lift up?"

I shook my head, placing my feet on sturdy juts out of the tree. "No, I think I got it, thanks."

I eventually managed to sit down next to Fang, and we both simply stared up into the stars and sat in companionable silence.

"Can't sleep?" Fang finally asked.

I blushed again, but I knew he could see it this time. "Edward kissed me goodnight, but we kind of ended up making out."

"Ah," Fang chuckled. "So now you've got your heart rate going and it's doing nothing to help you sleep."

"Yeah."

That conversation finished. After a while, Fang held out the harmonica to me, and smiled. "See what you can get out of it."

"Oh, God," I complained whilst taking the instrument. "I've never been very good with music. But I'll give it a go; just don't laugh."

I blew on it experimentally, and it produced a note sounding somewhere close to middle C (although I've only got a vague idea of what that note sounds like anyway).

"Nice one," he said. "That was really good tone, not many people can get that."

"It didn't sound very great to me."

He pointed to his chest whilst taking the harmonica back. "Genetically engineered freak, remember? I have enhanced hearing, sight and reflexes. But not smell; I'm a bird, not a cat."

I giggled and meowed at him, and he looked like he tried to keep a straight face but failed.

"None of us have congratulated you so far, you know?" he suddenly said. I looked at him in confusion, not understanding what he was supposed to be congratulating me about. He took my left hand in his and looked down at my ring finger. Oh, that. He grinned at me.

"You two are great for each other. I'm glad he secured you though; you're a pretty girl, and I bet loads of other guys were trying to look for a way to get you."

"You think I'm pretty?" I asked, suddenly anxious for some reason.

He shrugged. "Sure, you're third on my list of good-looking girls."

I smiled at him. "Okay, so I know Max is going to be first…" He grinned at me. "…but I don't know who's second."

"Max's half-sister, Ella. But she's related to Max, so that explains it. She also belongs to Iggy."

We both chuckled, remembering Fang's joke from a few minutes earlier. Then he repeated: "You two are great for each other."

"Not as great as you and Max," I said, trying to distract the topic from me. He remained silent, but he looked down at his feet sheepishly.

"I've been trying to tell her how I feel for God-knows-how-long," he practically whispered. "Did you know that she was the one who kissed me first? Oh, yeah, don't look so shocked; I had just had the crap beaten out of me by an Eraser. Her half-brother as a matter of fact. He's dead now, poor kid. But she was so scared for me that she bent right down and kissed me quickly, begging me not to die. Ever since then, whenever I've got her alone, I've kissed her, but she always ran away." He sighed sadly. "I had no idea why at the time; I thought it was something about _**me**_. But I'm just glad I know why she did that now. And I'm pretty damn ecstatic that we're actually going out."

That was the longest speech I had ever heard Fang say. And I wouldn't be surprised if the rest of the flock, who had known him for all his life, said the same thing.

"Is – _**Was**_ Max's half-brother related to her half-sister?" I asked.

He shook his head. "No. His and her father was – probably still is – one of the whitecoats who worked at the School. We thought he was good at first – he helped us escape, even lived with us for three years of freedom – but he left us to go back with the School, and even captured little Angel to experiment on her again. Max and I still hate him, but we think it's harder for the little kids to copy us, because he was the closest thing to a father any of us had ever had.

"Max's _**mother**_, on the other hand, is one of the best women I have ever known, and Max is very proud to have her as a mom. _**Dr**_ Valencia Martinez, no less; she's a vet. Yeah, I know, ironic, but hey. And her half-sister, Ella Martinez, is cute as well. She's roughly the same age as Nudge, and about as fashion-and-make-up-obsessed as her as well. They live in Arizona, no idea where though."

"I'm from Arizona, too," I put in. "Phoenix. I love it there; it's so warm and sunny."

"Yeah, and the lowest temperatures there, in the peak of winter, are still about 20°C," he agreed, smiling.

After another few minutes of silence, an idea suddenly popped into my head that would make these kids happy. I beamed up at the stars, and before Fang could ask me what was up, I slipped down off the branch and sprinted back inside the house.


	9. The lesser of two evils

**Chapter 9: Thank you…or not**

**Carlisle POV**

I walked down to the front door before they could knock, because I knew Bella wanted to surprise the kids, and the knock may have woken them. I did not expect the next thing to happen though:

"Well, how rude of them to simply abandon me at that awful house, and away from my beloved. Now this is _**much**_ better; decent decor, very tasteful, large, light, and by the smell of it, a _**very**_ lovely menu."

I stared in wonder as the small black Scottie strutted past me and up the stairs without a glance back at me, after talking almost the same amount as Nudge. I turned slowly back to the blonde woman and girl on the step, the woman – obviously the mother – grimacing in embarrassment, eyes opening slowly to gaze at me, not ogling, just begging forgiveness.

"I won't even ask," I reassured her slowly, just recovering from my initial shock.

She stuttered out a nervous laugh. "I'm so sorry."

I smiled at her. "No problem; we're kind of used to the supernatural around here now." She laughed again. I held out my hand. "Dr Carlisle Cullen."

She took my hand gratefully, surprisingly unflinching from the cold, hard texture. "Dr Valencia Martinez. This is my other daughter, Ella."

I smiled at her, and she returned it shyly. I stepped aside to invite them inside, and they quietly ascended the stairs, coming to the kitchen, where Edward was looking amusingly baffled as the tiny Scottie demanded a helping from the eggs he was preparing for the birdkids and Bella.

"Total!" Ella spoke up for the first time, sounding impressively stern. "Don't be so rude!" She clicked her fingers and pointed them to by her side, and the dog, Total I presume, backed away from Edward.

A small giggle, probably unheard by human ears, came from around the corner, by the stairs. Edward's face turned to mock anger, and he growled out loud enough for her to hear. "Isabella Swan, get out here now."

Bella stepped out from behind the stairs, hand over her mouth but shoulders still shaking. Edward glared at her again, and she tried to make a run for the stairs, but he whipped to right in front of her and grabbed her by the waist, lifting her up into the air. She screamed and kicked her legs to try and get down, but Edward carried her easily back into the lounge, and in front of the guests. She was still laughing.

"Hi," she managed to get out, at least saving herself from Edward's wrath by sounding a little bit scared. The Martinezes just laughed with her, and Edward chuckled into her neck before kissing it and returning his attention back to the Martinezes.

"This cheeky, adorable, beautiful girl is Bella, the girl you spoke to on the phone. I would say she's the love of my life, but, strictly speaking I'm not alive, and I also don't want to sound too soppy."

"Oh, yeah," Bella agreed dryly. "That would so ruin your 'ferocious monster' image."

I pressed my lips together to stop myself from laughing, whilst Edward growled playfully and nuzzled by her ear, peeking at Ella.

"You see what I mean by 'cheeky'?" he asked her. She giggled, and he winked at her.

There were some heavy footsteps coming down the stairs, and we all turned toward Fang, wearing nothing but jeans, yawning and rubbing the back of his head. He opened his eyes again, heavy with sleep, but his eyes widened slightly in recognition when he saw the Martinezes. A slow, warm smile spread across his lips.

"_Hola_, Dr M," he said softly. "What are you two doing here?"

Ella launched herself at him, squeezing her arms around his waist. He had to step back and lean away to balance himself, and the look on his face at this assault was priceless.

"Hey there, kiddo," he wheezed out. She eventually released him. "You okay?"

Ella's mouth fell open, and she looked like she was about to scold him. "You're asking _**me**_ that?! What about _**you**_?!"

Fang rolled his eyes, and I saw his shoulders sag slightly. "Oh, God; here we go again." He turned back to Max's family. "It's too early. Please just drop it. I'm fine, and recovering, end of story."

Ella still looked shocked at his nonchalance, but Valencia nodded reassuringly at him.

We all suddenly heard a delighted squeal from upstairs, and three pairs of loud feet came rushing down the stairs, Nudge, Angel and Gazzy emerging at the foot.

"Total!" Angel cried, hurrying over and scooping him into her small, frail arms. The couple began petting (or licking) each other constantly, obviously not having seen each other for a while. Nudge ran straight over to Ella and they were instantly absorbed in a conversation, the topic varying dramatically every few seconds or so, from make-up to fashion to ice cream. Gazzy's first sentence to Valencia was a question of whether she'll make her chocolate chip cookies while she stays here.

Total gave his best puppy-eyes (yes, I get the irony) to Angel, and said that the 'stubborn, lanky, bronze-haired kid' (oh, you should have seen Edward's face at that remark) wouldn't give him any bacon. Angel asked Edward in a more polite manner to give some spare bacon to Total, but he could still eat it on the floor. She looked at Total pointedly at the last promise. Edward complied, turning back to the cooker after glaring daggers at the small Scottie.

"That's it, my lanky little brother," Emmett grinned at Edward's back from the table. "Go on; have a good old man-sulk."

Edward spun around almost faster than the rest of us can, grabbing a skewer from the side and throwing it professionally at Emmett, who just managed to catch it.

"Boys," Esme said warningly. "We have guests."

"You got off lightly, muscle-bag," Edward muttered, turning back once again.

Valencia laughed at Esme's successful commanding tone. "Just like any other mother then, are you?"

"Ugh, and then some. You should see some of the fights they get in to," Esme agreed.

"He started it," Edward insisted.

"I don't care," Esme retorted.

Another giggle came from Bella, and she came and wrapped her arms around Edward's waist from behind, but we all knew she was still laughing.

"You are laughing at me, Bella Swan," Edward said. "And that is not allowed."

"I'm not laughing at _**you**_, specifically," she said. "I'm laughing at the situation, and what's said and done. Just at _**your**_ expense, for once, rather than mine."

He growled at her, and she giggled again. "I love you really."

That definitely softened him. "I know you do, just not as much as I love you. Now can you help me with this, please?"

She sighed and took the fish slice from him, pressing the bacon into the pan. "Never let a man cook."

"I don't even eat," he defended himself. "Give me a break."

"Whatever," Bella replied smugly.

Edward sighed and buried his head in his hands, collapsing onto the couch next to Ella. She patted his back soothingly. "One of those days, huh?"

"Oh yeah, kid. It's you and me against the world."

"We attack at ten."

Edward tilted his head to grin at her sideways, and she returned it. "I like your style," he commented.

"Thanks. I've learned most of my badass-ness from Max, but some of it is probably in my genes, considering we have the same mother."

"There is no way…"

We all turned towards a very shocked looking Max and Iggy, staring at our new guests with hope. Ella jumped up from the couch and crushed herself first to Iggy, who automatically held her too, and then to Max. The sisters stared at each other, Ella grinning ear to ear, and then Max threw her arms around her. Ella started laughing, and Max joined her as Valencia stood up to embrace both of them. Max then stepped back and looked at us.

"Whose idea was this?"

Bella shyly stepped forward and Max half-crushed her in a hug. Bella simply chuckled. "I thought you might like some familiarity in this place. I called them last night, and they set-off immediately. They arrived at their hotel in Port Angeles pretty late, but they got a good night's sleep."

"You are one of the most amazing people in the world, tie-ing with Fang, Ella and my mom."

"Huh?" Ella piped up at something Max said.

"Max," Fang caught her eye and mouthed, "They won't know."

Max's eyes suddenly widened in realisation, but then quickly narrowed as she got an idea. She stalked over to Fang, sitting down next to him on the couch with that glint in her eye and that Cheshire-cat grin on her face. Fang's face suddenly lit up as he comprehended when she was going to do, and his lips split open in a wide, smug smirk. The pair brought their lips together for a few seconds, each closing their eyes, then drawing apart to watch our guests' reactions. Ella and Valencia stood gaping at them, hardly daring to believe it, I suppose; my guess is that the others had known they'd liked each other for a while, but they themselves didn't want to admit it.

Ella launched herself at Fang for a second time, and he winced.

"Ow, ow, ow, wings, Ella."

She withdrew immediately, hands over her mouth in shock, eyes wide to offer an apology. Fang just chuckled briefly at her. "When the hell did you get so strong?" He looked at her, eyebrow raised. "Have you been working out?"

Ella instantly got over her shock and nodded proudly. "Yeah, I wanna be as strong as Max. Or as close to that as possible."

Fang flipped his eyebrows. "Nice. But don't get like those women body-builders on TV. That's just…" he trailed off, shuddering.

The rest of the morning drifted by in conversation, laughter and jokes. Oh, and the occasional fight between Emmett and Edward.

Around lunchtime, Fang suddenly relaxed and fell sideways on the couch, in a lying position, eyes closed. I took note of the purple circles under his eyes.

"Is your back still hurting?" I asked him.

"Mm-hm," came the sleepy reply. "I barely got any sleep last night."

Max tutted sympathetically, then moved over so she could gently lift his head into her lap. She buried her fingers in his thick midnight forest, gently scraping her fingers along his scalp. He sighed, seemingly involuntarily.

"That feel good?" Max asked him.

"Mmm…" he barely breathed.

Another few moments passed, and I heard Fang's breathing deepen. Max looked up at Edward and mouthed 'Is he asleep?', and Edward nodded the affirmative. Max looked down at Fang with such love, care and adoration that I couldn't help the warm smile spreading across my face.

"He looks so different when he's sleeping," Ella said, gazing down at Fang also. "Peaceful…"

"…Happy," Max agreed, "like nothing can take him down."

The silence that filled the room next was slightly tenser than a few seconds before. Jasper eventually hung his head after a minute. "I'm so sorry." The poor boy sounded almost heartbroken.

"Jazz, don't worry," Max assured him. "I don't condemn you for what you are, because that doesn't matter. _**Who**_ you are matters more."

"What do you mean?" Rosalie questioned her words.

"You guys think you're crap simply because of what you are, right? But all of your kind has a choice, every single day; whether you choose to survive on human blood or animal blood. We went to school for a brief period about a year ago. I learned something about what some people call the lesser of two evils. People think that God loves people who choose the lesser of two evils, because they chose the better option. If their point of view is true, if God even exists, you guys have reserved VIP tickets."

Bella leant forward suddenly, pointing a finger at Max like she was accusing her of something. I figured the only thing stopping Max from saying 'What did I do?' was the huge grin on Bella's face.

"Thank you!" Bella practically squealed. She turned back to us, Edward first, eventually moderating her voice when she remembered Fang was asleep. "That is what I have been trying to tell you ever since I knew! But Max has put it into the right words. The lesser of two evils! Why didn't I think of that in the first place?"

The rest of us digested that information, slow smiles spreading across our faces. Edward turned back to Max. "You're quite the philosopher." He looked out the window, swallowed quietly, then turned back to Max, a flare of hope akin to desperation in his eyes. "Do you really believe that? Do you think it's true?" His voice betrayed his tension as well – though I doubt he had tried to hide it anyway.

Max shrugged. "I don't believe in God, 'cos of how crap our lives were and are. But I don't see why he should leave you guys out of it simply because of what you are. You didn't exactly have a choice in it, did you? Same as me and the flock. We weren't born this way, neither were you in the way you are now, but other factors forced you to change."

"And you improve your situation by living off animal blood," a tired, deep voice came from Max's lap. We all looked down at Fang, whose eyes were staring through a slit in his eyelids. He had a small smile on his face, and was staring directly at Rosalie, knowing, somehow, that she suffered most with what we were. He tried to sit up, but Max gently pushed him back down, kissing his forehead softly.

"Go back to sleep, honey," she whispered, talking as if she was talking to Angel. He smiled at her lovingly, then kissed her hand, which she was trailing down the side of his face.

"I'll get some sleep later," he promised. He sat up again, successfully this time with no Max restraining him. He glanced around at us all, his eyes stopping on each of us for a few seconds. "Trust me, guys; not many people out there – even vampires like you – would take kids like us in. We're not the best with hygiene simply because we never had the luxury of growing up with it. We have freakin' _**wings**_, we're unlike anyone you've ever met, yet you've still given up your time, privacy and money to provide for us to stay with you. Santa Claus has just upped your priority on the 'Good List'."

We all chuckled lightly at the last remark, the mood still too sincere – but not heavy – to really laugh at such a comment.

Bella looked up into the eyes of her soulmate, her own chocolate ones shining with emotion. "Do you now see my point of view? Do you now realise why your own theory of being condemned is completely ridiculous?"

Edward sighed happily, gazing right back into Bella's eyes, seemingly transfixed. He then grinned, turning back to Emmett.

"I'm getting shown up by fourteen- and eighteen-year-old kids. It's really not healthy for my ego to take such a punch."

The serious atmosphere lifted at last, and we all burst into fits of laughter. I hoped this meant that Edward wouldn't be so hard on himself from now on.

**Sorry about the wait, people. Exams and all that stuff 15-year-old kids put up with. Oh, hang on a sec. *Gasps* I'm 16 on Wednesday!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay! Now I can…get a provisional licence and buy an alcoholic drink with a meal. Wow, that's a lot. (Not the sarcasm). Anyway, I won't demand that you review or say something cheesy like "reviews are love!" coz they just make me sick sometimes. Just review if you think it's good enough.**

**Cheers.**

**Fly on,**

**Nitnat Ride**


	10. Apology and planning

**Wow. I'm really lazy. I am so so so so so so so etc. sorry for not updating sooner, guys. I've had tons of homework, coursework and revision to do over these few weeks. And months. Trust me; I would rather be doing fanfiction. Anyway, on with the story, hey?**

**Chapter 10: Apology and planning**

**Edward's POV**

When the kids had been put into their respective beds – well, _**our**_ respective beds, technically – I spent some time with my love (who had been kidnapped from her father, his suspicions doused when it was _**Alice**_ who had dropped by to request a sleepover), kissing her goodnight and singing to her until her breathing slowed. I would go back in a while, when the talking starts; I loved to hear what my Bella is dreaming of. It's the closest I could get to reading her mind.

One person's thoughts in particular rang through my head, and I knew I needed to go to her. To straighten things out. I knew that I needed to do this for the sake of our family.

I walked up the stairs at human pace, giving her as much time as possible to prepare; she would have heard me coming anyway. I made my way down the corridor, and leant against the wall opposite the doorway in which she stood, watching over little Angel and Gazzy with some sort of wistful-heart ache in her expression. I stayed silent, again for the purpose of her preparation and leisure. Eventually, without turning around, she graced me with a response to my presence.

"Fang's back is almost completely healed now."

I caught her meaning immediately, not needing to read her mind. "They'll be leaving soon," I translated her sentence.

Rosalie turned then, looking me in the eye with such crushing grief that I was fervently grateful that Jasper wasn't there that moment; the poor boy would have cried with all the emotion he would have been feeling.

"It's wrong for me to think of them like this," she continued. "We've all developed attachments to the bird-kids. But Emmett and I…" She trailed off. "We know we can't have them. But it was impossible to keep the hope down, impossible to not revel in the feeling, just this once." She took a breath, and I noticed with sympathy, but not much surprise, that it quivered. "And now that opportunity is being taken away, simply because of the duty and danger that they did not ask for." Her voice broke every few words, the same anger I usually hear from her nowadays returning.

We shared a few more minutes of silence, and I waited until her thoughts portrayed that she had drained herself of the anger that hurt her in that moment. She looked up again, staring me in the eye – a feat in itself that shocked me enough that I could not look away, that I could not feel the fury I felt for her for not warming to Bella.

"You were right all along, Edward." I raised my eyebrows in question. "It's best not to hope, because when either you or they need to leave –" My heart clenched painfully at the memory she obviously was reminding me of, and I flinch at the ache. "– it only hurts more. Remember when you told us that Bella was behaving like she was dreaming or dead, when we returned?"

I nodded, my throat too constricted with emotion for me to answer verbally. She continued with her heart-pour-out. "I have a theory about that: she thought you were going to leave again, so her subconscious tried to convince her that she was dreaming, that you weren't actually there. She didn't want herself to hope that you had in fact come back, because when you left, her false assumption, it wouldn't hurt as much, because she wouldn't believe that you had come home at all."

I paused, nodding my head slightly, letting my brain digest that hypothesis. Eventually, I turned to her again, looking _**her**_ in the eye this time; a grateful response to her letting down her defences. For _**me**_, no less.

"An interesting theory," I congratulated her, "and one I believe to be true." I pushed off the wall, not losing eye contact, and put my hands on her shoulders in what I hoped to be a comforting way. "Listen, I know we've never had the most stable of relationships. But I just want you to know; no matter what happens, no matter what comes between us over time, you're still my little sister. We're family, and big brothers are supposed be there for their siblings. So from now on, I'm here for you."

She smiled at me, the first warm smile I had had from her in longer than I care to count. I tentatively brought my arms around her, bringing her head to where my still heart was, hoping she could hear the sincerity of my apology in it. I revelled in the feeling of self-satisfaction; I had finally, if only temporarily, set things straight with Rosalie.

Our moment was interrupted by a flash of bright white light, and we both glanced at each other confused, then turned, as one, to face the direction of the culprit. Bella was standing there, huge grin on her face, still in her pyjamas, checking the screen of the digital camera Charlie had gotten her for her eighteenth. She quickly glanced at us, then took off down the corridor, calling back to bait us: "This is so going on Facebook."

"Bella!" I called after her, pulling away from Rosalie to race after her, laughter bubbling up my throat. I caught up with her (of course), and clamped my hands around her waist, pulling her arms in as well, spinning her to face my sister.

"Rose, grab the camera! Our prides depend on it!"

She grinned and snatched the camera from my love, careful not to hurt her, and then looked sternly in her face.

"You try something like that again, Isabella Swan," she said, a smile still on her face, "and I will subject you to an entire day of shopping for clothes with which you are not normally familiar."

Bella's mouth fell open as I tried to hold in my laughter again. "What?! Rose, you can't _**do**_ that! That's Alice's job!"

Rosalie winked at her, grinning again. She leant in and whispered. "The Wicked Pixie of the West needs a sidekick."

We all practically collapsed laughing, and only laughed harder when Alice's high-pitched, annoyed squeak came from downstairs: "I heard that, Rose!"

She came running up the stairs, frown upon her face. "And just for that, we're going to do that shopping spree, tomorrow, just the girls, including those of the bird-kids and other humans that want to come."

Bella pouted. "Why, Alice? Why?" she asked dramatically.

"Because I said so. So, the definitely-coming-ers are me, Rose, Bella, and Max. We'll ask the others tomorrow. Now come on, Bella; you're exhausted and you're not going to have Edward carrying you around tomorrow."

Bella and I both moved our heads to look at each other, and pouted in exactly the same moment. It would have been comical if the feeling it was inspired from wasn't so genuine.

"Come on, love," I said, sweeping Bella into my arms. "Let's get you back into bed."

I wasn't halfway down the corridor when she fell asleep again.

**Max's POV**

My consciousness returned to me pleasantly slowly, allowing me time to wake up at my own pace…and revel in the feeling of Fang's warm body pressed against mine. Okay, guys; get your heads out of the gutter now. Nothing like _**that**_ happened, okay?

Let me explain: I wanted to sleep in the same room as Fang again, but I suggested that he might like to sleep in a proper bed now that his back is bordering-on-completely healed, and I said we could use Edward's room now. Everyone agreed, so I was going to sleep on the floor (being used to sleeping on hard surfaces) whilst he enjoyed the luxury of a real bed. But when we got there, Fang, being the stubborn, sweet-natured bird-boy that he is, wouldn't stand for me sleeping on the floor. He practically dragged me into the bed with him, insisting that it would be okay because it was a double bed. He had winked at me, then bent down to whisper in my ear: "And, we'll be closer together, which would be a plus for both of us…" He had smirked at the blush that had formed on my cheeks, despite my kick-ass-ness telling me not to be such a girl.

But then, I had to admit, it was nice to wake up with my right-wing man, my life support, by my side. A smile spread across my face as I gazed at him, peaceful in his slumber, and I tried not to wriggle around so his arms, which were still around my waist from last night, would tighten as I knew they would when he woke.

I didn't know how long I lay there for but when I started to smell bacon (Edward had probably heard my thoughts since when I woke), I decided it was time for Fang to get up as well. Smirking as I thought of another way to wake him, I rolled onto my elbow and pressed my lips to his. I heard him intake a breath, sharper than usual for the surprise, but he then relaxed into the kiss, stroking my lips passionately. As I predicted, his arms tightened around me, pulling me closer to him, so pulling me directly on top of him. I smirked, as I thought then I would have had the advantage, but he proved me wrong again; damn that extra-sensitive bit of skin between our wings, and damn the fact that I couldn't reach his because it was pressed against the bed. And as far as I remembered, I had yet to mutate the power to walk and reach through objects.

He chuckled against my lips as I completely melted into his body, and he pulled very slowly, and reluctantly (yes!), away from me. His eyes, still slightly hooded from sleep, were glittering with amusement.

"Good morning to you, too," he laughed softly. Then a smug grin split his lips, revealing his annoyingly white set of teeth. "I win," he muttered against my lips.

I tried to be angry with his mockery, I really did, but he's just so dang irresistible I smiled with him, surrendering to his wishes – of a second make-out.

After that, we went straight back to my square one; lying on our sides and staring at each other, like a couple of lovesick teenagers. Oh, wait a sec…we were.

"Let's lie like this for a while," Fang insisted, pulling me closer again.

"Max!" I jumped at the sound of my name being screamed from downstairs, in the kitchen. "Don't you dare start making out with Fang again, because we need to start early today: we're going on a shopping spree, and I'll drag you kicking and screaming if I have to, but you're _**definitely**_ coming no matter what!"

"Oh, God," I groaned. A whole _**day**_ shopping? _**With Alice?!**_ Not the best start.

Fang laughed quietly. "Come on, before she runs upstairs and takes a picture of us with the camera I know that little pixie is hiding somewhere."

"_**I am not a pixie!**_" was her response, to which a few people downstairs started laughing. I think it was Edward and Bella mostly. What's up with that?

We clambered out of bed, and Fang stuffed his head through his T-shirt. Yes, I know; he was in the same bed as me _**and**_ he was shirtless. In my own defence, I blushed when he started to take it off. Ergo, I hadn't wanted him to take it off. Okay, that's a lie, but still…

We made our way down the stairs, pushing through the doorway into the lounge / kitchen room, saying hi to everyone. Just then, Total trotted past us to Edward, who was standing at the cooker again, fixing our breakfast.

"What's for dinner tonight then, Copper Curls?" Edward stiffened, to our amusement, whilst Total kept yapping on. "I must say the breakfast yesterday was above my expectations of the undead; it didn't have an after-taste of a musty coffin at all. I'm impressed."

"Thanks," Edward growled sarcastically. "Now, in answer to your question about dinner tonight, if you call me 'Copper Curls' one more time, it'll be hot dogs."

Whimpering, Total darted back to hide behind Bella's legs, and she bent down to scratch behind his ears.

"Edward, be nice to the poor creature," she stood up again. "What's gotten into you this morning anyway?"

"Yeah, baby bro," Jasper put in from the sofa. "You're giving out pretty strong angry-vibes over there."

Edward sighed, his head dropping forward, probably in shame. "I don't know," he admitted. "I just feel completely irritated. And it didn't have anything to do with the dog at the start." He looked up at Bella, catching her eye. "Either of the dogs."

Bella smiled warmly, sympathetically, then reached forward, taking Edward's hand and pulling him gently away from the breakfast. "Esme, can you take over?"

"Of course."

Pulling him to the sofa, Bella sat Edward down then walked around to the back, standing just behind him. She put a hand on his shoulder as he tried to lean forward.

"For once in your life, Edward, slouch. You can be a slob in this generation. We're not in the 1800s, you know."

He laughed half-heartedly, then sunk into the sofa. Bella placed her hands on his shoulders, gently kneading the skin.

"Jazz, little help?"

The blond vampire grinned. "Sure thing."

Edward suddenly sighed, relaxing visibly, his eyes drifting shut. "When the hell did you learn to massage?"

Bella shrugged, even though she couldn't see him. "I didn't. It's just easy for me to do. It's probably not as effective on you as it would be on a human."

"Well then the human would be in paradise if they felt any more than this," Edward insisted.

Bella giggled, then stopped her hands, pressing her chin on his mess of hair. Lifting a hand up, he caressed her cheek gently, a silent thank-you, much like one Fang would give, only with _**way**_ more contact – Fang would usually thank with his eyes. But I guess that had all changed; I had finally cracked the shell this miracle boy had built around himself. I sighed happily at that fact. Fang heard this and turned towards me.

"Dreaming of me again?" he joked, a smile slowly – slowly – spreading across his face.

I blushed despite my efforts to pretend I wasn't. "Maybe," I surrendered.

To my utter horror, everyone in the room 'awwww'd, and Fang kissed me on my forehead. Alright, the second bit I didn't mind so much. But it was still embarrassing to have that done in front of everyone.

"You'd better get used to that feeling, Max," Edward piped up, "because Fang's not going to stop that now he's got you."

Fang laughed, understanding what I was thinking about from Edward's description. Attempting to distract everyone, I changed the subject.

"So what were you saying about a shopping spree, Alice?"

She lashed out at the bait, probably unaware that I had used her as a self-defence method. "Oh, right! Okay, only the girls are going, because we could probably give the boys a surprise when we get back."

"I'm _**really**_ looking forward to that bit," Edward said, grinning up at Bella, who blushed under his stare. Finally, someone who understands my situation with Fang.

"But me, you, Bella and Rose are definitely coming," Alice continued. "We've asked Nudge, Angel, Ella, Dr M and Esme if they want to come, and only Ella is coming out of that group."

I sighed, knowing that if I try to fight she would just drag me out of the house herself. And it was _**really**_ annoying that she had the strength to do that to me.

"Where are we going?" I asked.

"Port Angeles. It's the town closest to us that has a mall. It'll be twenty minute drive for us, because we drive faster than humans, but you guys could probably make it in that time as well. Just travel roughly 30 miles due south-east, bearing 141°. Stop when you reach the mall, and I think there's a small wood near it so you can touch down there, and we'll meet you south-side."

I shrugged. "Sure. Whatever."

Continuing with general conversation, we remained in comfortable company. Then Fang suddenly reached over onto Gazzy's plate, stole a rasher of bacon and shoved it into his mouth. He was up again before I had time to remind him we were in good company, and he spoke around the food.

"Okay, I can't wait any longer."

He strode to the balcony, hauled the glass door open and flung himself off the balcony, the perfect imitation of the shape of a diver in the Olympics. Bella's eyes almost popped out of her head when she saw the most incredible sight of Fang soaring up over the tree tops, his wings of pure power unfurled, beating up and down with the most amazing sound. Grinning at the Cullens' awed faces, I followed him, throwing myself from the balcony, relishing in the feeling of being in the air again. Of being in the air again _**with Fang**_. Of being in the air again with Fang _**as his girlfriend**_. Wow, I was never going to get tired of that.

**Bella's POV**

"It must be incredible to be able to go anywhere whenever you feel like," I mused about twenty minutes after Max and Fang had gone off.

"That's the problem," Iggy said from the table, glancing to where I was seated. That was still really weird (but impressive).

"You get too secure with that fact," he continued, "and sometimes, usually when Max is having a hard time, Max thinks she can unfurl her wings and fly away from everything. I was surprised she even admitted that she was completely in love with Fang a few days ago, because she flew away from those feelings when he kissed her twice since she first kissed him because Fang got beaten to within an inch of life."

"Holy Hell," Emmett grimaced. "What happened?"

Iggy shrugged. "The usual; we were trying to relax on the beach for a bit in the Big Apple, then Erasers came along, one of them being who we would find out later to be Max's half-brother. He wasn't too bad near the end of his life, which is a shame, because I was just starting to like him from the description the others gave me. Then Max's half-brother, evil at this point in time, beat the living bleep out of Fang. Strangely enough, though, it was Fang who started the fight; Ari said something to Max about liking his chicks feisty, I can only imagine him grinning that disgusting grin evil people have when they say that, and Fang leapt up to save the day. Unfortunately, the saving didn't go as planned for him."

"Damn," Rosalie put in, grimacing as well. "You guys really have it hard."

A beating of wings and breathless laughter signified Max and Fang's return. They hopped off the balcony railing, then walked through into where we were seated.

"Yeah," Fang agreed, speaking to Rosalie, so obviously responding to her concern. "But it's great when we get extras like these things."

He suddenly disappeared, and I blinked, wondering if he had teleportation like Nudge, but Max just rolled her eyes and spoke to thin air.

"You've been practising, haven't you?"

Fang's chuckle sounded from the patch of space beside me, alarmingly close to my ear, and I jumped. I hadn't realised I was so close to the edge of the arm of the chair, which was where I was resting, and I almost fell off. The air moved to catch me, and I felt a grip under my arms, but couldn't see it.

"Careful, Bella. Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

I could suddenly see Fang's arms, and I grinned up at him. He returned it, winking cutely.

"Excuse me?" Edward's voice cut into our moment. Turning to him, I saw him mock-glaring at Fang, amusement clear and thick in his butterscotch eyes. "Are you hitting on _**my**_ fiancé, Raven-boy?"

Fang smirked at him, releasing me back onto the arm of the couch, and holding his hands up in surrender. "Hey, she's all yours. Besides, I was only helping her up."

"Yeah, sure you were," Edward mocked, still grinning, and he pulled my closer to his chest.

I giggled. "And you said _**I**_ was adorable when I was jealous."

Smiling, he flipped his eyebrows at me.

"Alright," Alice pipes up again. "Let's get going, because, Max? You've been in those clothes since you got here, and God knows how long before that. We are going to come back with a completely new, but completely _**amazing**_ look for you."

I sighed. _It begins_.


	11. New Looks

**Chapter 11: New looks…**

**Max's POV**

I had said bye to the others and told Alice that they could go to Port Angeles in the car, whilst I'd be in the air.

"I could be a bit later than you guys," I explained. "But that's because I just want to have a little exploration of the surroundings; it's great to see landscapes like this from the air."

Agreeing, Alice said she completely understood, and that they would wait for me in the mall entrance, probably sitting down at the café immediately on the right from the entrance. I nodded, thanking them for the fact that they would wait for me. For some reason, that fact, that they were willing to cut short the allotted time for spree-ing so I could catch them up, warmed me. Like they thought I was more important than shopping, or, rather, that they wanted to enjoy the experience with me by their side.

I'll never forget when the others were going to the car, Bella made a compromise:

"Alice, can I drive?"

"Psh, no way, B! That Porsche is mine, and you definitely won't be able to rev her up like I can," Alice mocked.

Sighing, Bella gave in. "Fine, but I get to pick what we listen to on the iPod system."

"Sure thing. Just so long as it's decent."

"Why does everyone have a thing against my taste in music?"

The Cullens laughed at that. I'd have to ask them about it later. But what really made my day was the look on Edward's face after the next thing happened. The girls were all nicely seated in the wicked-looking yellow Porsche with the top down, **(they can do this because it's not sunny, and because I say it's a convertible, lol)** and Bella leant down to fiddle with the iPod. Suddenly, she smiled, obviously liking her choice in first song. As she replaced the iPod, a cool guitar tune came on, and we all listened to the lyrics, stunned that Bella, shy Bella, listened to something like this. Alice grinned, and the girls made their exit to the chorus lines: **(Song is "Here comes trouble" by Honor (yes it's spelt that way) Society)**

_Here comes trouble again,_

_I'd better act carefully,_

_She knows what she's doing to me,_

_And she makes it look so easy,_

_Here comes trouble again,_

_My heart tells me to leave,_

_But a girl like that's on a different level,_

_Here comes trouble._

Eyes completely alight with mischief and disbelief, Edward stared open-mouthed in Bella's retreating direction. His mouth stretched wide into a gleaming, goofy grin. "Score," he muttered triumphantly.

Esme wacked him upside the head, and he complained until she pointed something relevant out:

"You want to explain what you meant by that to Angel?"

Edward stopped, rubbed the back of his head, then said, "You know what, I've just remembered I've forgotten to write up a biology experiment we did before we broke up for summer."

"Mmm…" Esme agreed, smiling. "I'm sure you have."

He walked towards the stairs, but stopped by me on the way.

"I'll leave the explaining to you for when she gets older," he whispered.

He's lucky he was so damn fast, so I didn't even get to _**decide**_ to slap him before he was up the stairs, leaving a trail of chuckles.

Anyway, so I now was flying way above the forest, admiring the perfect landscape and getting lost in the deep viridian sea, and, of course, practising a few aerial tricks Fang taught us from the eagles. I was having an amazing time…apart from the niggling little gut-feeling that something was going to go wrong. I kept my guard up, looking for any Erasers/Flyboys, but I saw nothing. But maybe that was because I forgot to look on the ground, because the next moment, I was being torn from the sky by something grabbing my left wing and my T-shirt.

I cried out as both of us landed heavily on the ground, and I heard the creature grunt. Springing to my feet again, I saw the creature doing the same, so I managed to get a good look at it…and tried not to cringe in fear. It had to be at least eight feet high, and about ten feet long excluding the tail. Its muzzle was pulled back over teeth sharper than those the Erasers used to have. But there was no mistaking the shape and form of the animal; this was a wolf. And a freakin' _**huge**_ one at that (what the hell had it been eating, bio-accumulated Miracle-Gro? Wow, check out the biology term).

It came at me again, its russet-coloured fur shimmering in the summer rays, and I leapt out of the way instinctively; there was no way I could fight that thing myself. But it was faster than I gave its size credit for, and it spun and pounced on me, pressing its nose right in my face and growling fiercely at me. Squirming, I attempted to heave the dustbin-lid-sized paws off my shoulders, but it was impossible, to I resorted to kicking. Thankfully I managed to hit something, which could well have been its untouchables considering the way it froze, seized up, then practically rolled off me with its legs in the air like a dead beetle. **(Lol, sorry, I've got nothing against the guy who this is – I won't mention his name just in case any of you haven't figured out who it is – but I thought it was a funny image to have)** I used this situation to my advantage, and leapt up again, launching myself in the air and using my super-speed to get me as far away from that place as possible.

I didn't stop or even slow down until I spotted the mall Alice had told me about. Hovering in the air for some time, I debated how I should enter the building (and no; I'm not talking about whether to calmly stroll through the doors or to smash them open with a high kick). I could go through the window in the toilets, check myself in the mirror, clean myself up, go out of the toilets through the window again, then act perfectly normal as I walk through the front doors, like I hadn't just been attacked by some genetically-modified wolf.

I followed through with my plan, and groaned at the sight in the mirror; I looked like crap. There, I thought I'd be frank. I wiped all the mud off my face and clothes as much as possible, and removed the few twigs from my hair, but there was nothing I could do about the small scratch on my right cheek. It had already dried to a thin, but deep-red and noticeable scab. I sighed in frustration, quickly thinking up a story that I was landing in the forest to check something out and didn't see a branch in the way, and then nodded. Wriggling out of the window again, I walked around the side of the mall to the front doors, where I rebuilt my façade and strode _**completely normally**_ into the building.

I suppose you're expecting me to describe every tiny detail in the shopping centre, but to be honest, it was just like every other mall you've been to. It was big, bright – 'cause of the huge glass windows framing the highly-suspended ceiling – and bursting with people, probably because it was the summer holidays and kids could find nothing better to do with themselves in such a long duration of free-time. You know, like kicking the crap out of some bird-kid-icidal robots, or dumpster-diving for that night's meal.

I spotted Alice, Bella, Rosalie and Ella sitting at the café, just like Alice had said they would, at a table directly behind the flimsy barricade used at cafés; you know, the poles with the seat-belt material running near the tops, joining them up. I waved back at them once Ella pointed me out, and jogged over to them after she had brandished a cup of something that looked like hot chocolate with cream and chocolate sprinkles on the top. Okay, sure, it was summer; but sometimes it's nice to have hot chocolate when you're stressed, and I thought I qualified for that adjective after my near-mauling experience.

"Hey, guys," I greeted them. "Sorry I kept you waiting."

"Max," Ella scolded. She drew a line across her cheek. "What'd you do?" See above for the story I told them.

"Okay," I said, ignoring the suspicious glances I was receiving from Alice. "Let's go get glamorised."

We all stood up, only to be interrupted. "Um, actually, Alice…" We turned to Bella, who was looking quite sheepish, but she suddenly straightened up. "I'm going to go off on my own around here, because I want it to be a surprise to everyone."

Alice grimaced. "I don't know Bella; your record for fashion sense hasn't been great so far."

Rolling her eyes, Bella countered, "Please have a little faith in me, Alice. I'll explain everything when you see me." She paused. "Tell you what; if I don't meet your standards of amazing-ness, you and Rose can take me shopping every weekend for six months."

Both Rose's and Alice's eyebrows shot up, so I guessed Bella was not one to promise such a thing lightly. Alice looked at Bella curiously, as if trying to sense something, trying to find something wrong with her. I half-expected her to go up to Bella and start feeling her forehead and asking if she was sick. Instead, I knew that she was trying to look for a future outcome of Bella's decision. Apparently she didn't find one, as she accepted Bella's request still with the confused look on her face.

Whilst Bella went off, promising to explain everything later, when she felt it was the right time, we walked off in the opposite direction. We didn't get far, as Rose spotted something in the window of Abercrombie and Fitch, and went in to try it on. Strangely, instead of following her, like I thought we were going to do, Alice said we'd meet her outside the shop. She agreed instantly.

Once Alice and I were alone, she shuffled closer to me and said in a low voice,

"I was tracking your future through your flight to make sure you didn't meet those robot things," she explained. "But your future disappeared at one point. The others don't know, but I wanted to ask you what happened."

I sighed and told her of my acquaintance with the giant of the forest, and she didn't seem at all surprised to hear that there were huge wolves running loose in the forest she had right by her house. She seemed to freeze for a second though, and asked a puzzling question.

"What colour was the wolf?"

I frowned at her, confused. "Russet, why?"

Her jaw tensed, and I could tell she was obviously angry at something, but she refused to tell me, saying she'd let Bella explain when we told her later, when we got back to her house. There was something going on in their world that I had a feeling would impact our – mine and the flock's – world very soon. And I definitely didn't like that feeling.

**Bella's POV**

After asking Alice if I could go off on my own, I constantly checked around me to see if they had followed me. Call if paranoia, I call it preservation of a part of my life I didn't want them to find out from each other. I want to be the one to tell them all. Especially Edward.

Of course, I made my way immediately to the shop "Opio". I knew the kind of clothes I was looking for would be found there. What I didn't know was that something else I was unconsciously looking for would be found there too.

As I entered the shop, I heard his voice, but I guess it didn't register, because when I saw him, talking to a young woman about how her size of a certain dress would be in stock next week, I froze in the middle of the shop doorway. His hazel-coloured head bobbed up and down in agreement with the woman, and she then left, leaving him free to turn towards me, to fix his pale, pale blue eyes on my now-much-older figure, to freeze in recognition and memory.

We stood like that for a fair few minutes before he inclined his head to me in greeting, then gestured for me to follow him to the stock room of the shop. I followed him without question, my paranoia going completely out of the window, and we found a secluded spot in the dark warehouse, hidden by rows and rows of shelves and by the hum of delivery vans bringing in the next stock. He turned slowly around, eventually resting his back against the wall and staring at me again before lifting a hand to my eyes, tracing a finger directly under them.

"I'd recognise those eyes anywhere," he said, his voice soft and reminiscent. "Even after seven years."

I looked down guiltily. "I hadn't meant it to be so long, Loyal. I heard you made it out about three years ago, but I just didn't want to dig up skeletons again; you never know, with skeletons like ours, they may still be alive."

"Exactly, which is why I don't blame you," he insisted. He sighed, dropping his hand but continuing to look at my face. "You just remind me so much of him."

I shrugged, ignoring the pain in my chest when I thought of him. "He's more confident than I am." I deliberately used the abbreviation 'he's'; I wasn't sure whether I should use the present or past tense.

Loyal frowned at me, stepping closer. "Maybe now, but he wasn't before. You used to come into this shop every summer when you were with your dad, looking for both kick-ass clothes and for me, because we used to be best friends. You were the one always sticking up for me, not the other way around." He suddenly looked so sad and completely defeated. "When I got back, I heard a few people talking about you, probably from Forks High, and I got curious. So I asked them what you were like, and you know what they said, Bella? They said that Bella Swan is the shiest creature on planet Earth." He exhaled sharply and shook his head, tears threatening to spill from his memorable eyes. His figure was getting fuzzy with my own tears as memories came spilling back, which I knew he would be remembering, and which I knew would serve as justification. He let out a quiet sob and pulled me close, bending his head down to bury his face in my hair, as I muffled my cries in his black work-shirt.

Once we had both calmed down somewhat, we stood in each other's embrace, taking comfort from an old friend's company. We eventually broke apart, but we didn't go back into the shop just yet. So Loyal decided to strike up a relatively normal conversation.

"So what brings you back? To this specific shop?"

Holding up my left hand and showing him the engagement ring, I explained, "I'm going to have a new family soon, and it's the kind of close-knit family where you don't keep secrets. So I want them to find out from me, sort of like dying by my own hand."

"Please don't use that analogy," Loyal begged, flinching.

"Sorry," I replied sincerely. "Anyway," I continued, "some kids have just come into my life, and you know what? They're experiments too."

Loyal's eyes grew wide. "You're kidding! Oh, my God, you should definitely tell them; they could help you out. Maybe even be able to take you back there to go and free –" he cut off, realising that I would have thought about that already.

But I shook my head. "The youngest one is only about six. I won't ask them to go back to hell-on-earth just to…help me."

Loyal sighed again. "You always think of other people, never about yourself." He smiled slightly, then patted my shoulder. "Come on; let's go get you some new-old clothes." I smiled at him, then started following him back into "Opio". "Oh, hey," he continued, "listen to this; there's a karaoke contest in the Grand Square of the mall at lunchtime today. Except it's all about bringing what you got to the stage with your own songs. Maybe you should go along then, and give that soon-to-be family of yours an explosive intro to the new-old Bella Swan."

"You know what," I replied, "I might just do that. I haven't sung in so long, and I miss it." I grabbed Loyal's hand just before we entered back into the shop. "Loyal, are you really okay with me being engaged? I mean, I know you had a thing for me back then."

He held up his hand to stop me. "I'm okay with it, I promise. And yes, I did have a thing for you back then, and, looking like you do now and, no doubt, will when you put the clothes on, I still do have a thing for you. But life moved in its own way, and stopped me from being with you. So I didn't get the opportunity to be with you like I wanted to. But I won't interfere with your life, and if you love the guy like I know you do – don't deny it, I saw the light in your eyes when you showed me the ring – I know you will be very happy with him."

I smiled warmly at him, and hugged him again. He returned the favour and asked, "Still friends though, right? Because I still just want to spend time with you."

Smiling even wider, I looked up at him. "Best friends, like always."

We broke apart, grinning like complete fools. "Now," Loyal said. "Let's sort out that explosive-Bella look."

**Hey, guys. Hopefully that chapter was cool. I kind of liked it, but don't any of you review and ask questions about what Bella's past is about, and what her history with Loyal is. It's all going to become clear later in the story. I promise. And I'll try not to keep you hanging for too long.**

**Fly on,**

**NitnatRide**


	12. No freakin' way!

**Chapter 12: Or Old Ones**

**Max's POV**

We explored the wonders of the mall for a few hours, Alice either commenting on an outfit Rosalie - or occasionally me – picked out or scowling, apparently concentrating to try and see the future where Bella is wearing the outfit she was so confident about. Rosalie chose light-wash straight-cut jeans with a black sleeveless top with an image of a pair of red lips biting on an equally red cherry. Her heels were simple design but with killer height. Alice went for a simple strapless denim dress, which suited her tiny frame very well, and flat black ballet pumps. For all its minimalism she pulled it off very well. Ella selected her outfit very carefully, obviously used to an expedition as this; in the end, she looked extremely stylish and 'don't mess with me' badass-ish in light-wash, roll-up three-quarter lengths, with a thick brown leather belt and sandal-heels of the same material. On her chest, she wore a Levi's decorated white T-shirt, with a long-sleeved red, grey and black checked shirt, undone over the T-shirt. Two thick wooden bangles sat on her left wrist. For me we eventually settled for straight-cut, dark jeans which hugged my thighs then flared out, and a black off-the-shoulder top (good for my wings; I'd only have to slit holes further down for my wing-joints to be able to move easily), which had "Warning: May answer back" written in white gel-writing along the front. I was wearing sandal-heels, black-and-white straps mingling and twisting together to create the roof of the shoe, with a heel that was neither too high for me to walk nor too small to be not-stylish/feminine.

Next, we sorted out our hair. This was slightly more complicated, because of the mall's fire alarm system. Let me explain; my hair still had some of its natural dirty blonde look, and it wasn't really working well. So Rose and Alice sat with me in the toilets whilst I burnt a flame from my finger, using my power to dye my hair to its new hue. I had to turn it off and wait every few seconds though, for fear of setting the alarm off. Once that was done, we all went to the hairdressers to get our hair washed, and styled. Rose chose a softly-waved effect, whereas Ella, Alice and I went with a straightened style. It was very effective what with her short spikes and my now shaped fringe that I could wear in a side parting. Ella chose the same style as me; this style apparently suited Martinez girls very well.

Once we were finished, we had nothing to do but wait back in the café where we had met first. Alice sent a text to Bella telling her where we were, then resumed to sulk about not being able to see Bella prematurely.

In the middle of her scowling marathon, Alice suddenly sat up in her seat, her eyes wide. "Oh," she groaned, falling against her seat again. Rose raised her eyebrows, quietly asking what she saw.

"All the others are coming here," she complained. "They were supposed to wait until we got home, but now they're coming here! They're going to be here in twenty minutes and Bella's not even here."

"Well, let's call her, and tell her to step it up a gear," I suggested, and Rose pulled out her phone to do just that.

Bella was surprised when she picked up her phone, Rose told us. Rose told her that the others were on their way here, and even I heard her from down the phone, complaining about them: "Hell, you of all people should know how to be patient!" We all had to laugh at that. She hung up after informing us that she would meet us all in the Grand Square (where we were anyway) probably after the guys got here.

We didn't have to wait that long before a pair of hands covered my eyes, and a velvet voice, soft as midnight, asked me, "Guess who?"

Grinning, I decided to tease him. "Sam?" I deliberately made my voice hopeful.

Fang made a noise of disgust in the back of his throat, removing his hands from my eyes and moving to sit down beside me. "Don't even _**mention**_ that wiener."

"Jealous much?" Alice smiled.

"That's because he kissed my girl," he defended himself.

"He was my date, Fang," I felt my face heat up. "And I wasn't your girl back then."

"But now you are." His grin reminded me of a movie villain. "So now I can do this…"

With no warning, he quickly put his hand behind my head, leant forward, and smashed our lips together. I didn't pull back; you know, because I was so shocked at first, and then I didn't see the point of pulling away. Definitely _**not**_ because I liked it or anything. Of course not.

After the cheers from our audience died down, he pulled away slowly, whispering to me: "You look _**amazing**_." He drew the adjective out for emphasis. "I like the logo by the way."

I had kept my jacket, which hid my wings, unzipped so everyone was warned of my inclination for verbal retaliation. "It suits me doesn't it?" I grinned.

"What?" Edward's whine pulled us both out of our little bubble. We looked up in time to see Alice roll her eyes.

"Oh, put the pout away, you big baby," she teased Edward. "In case you weren't listening, she'll meet us here, probably because she wants to watch the singing here later."

"Singing?" Apparently Nudge, Angel and Ella had been rehearsing synchronised speaking all morning; they were masters of it now.

"Yeah. It's this thing where you bring your own music and talent to the stage, rather than doing karaoke of existing songs. I was thinking of persuading Bella to do it."

Emmett snorted. "Yeah, like you'd be able to force her onto a stage. She wouldn't have anything to bring to the stage, plus she'd probably fall up the stairs anyway."

"Emmett," Edward glared at his brother, though he couldn't stop the smile spreading on his face too. "Don't be mean."

We continued to wait for B, but she didn't show up. Rose, Alice and Edward called and texted her, apparently checking for her safety, and she replied back every time that something was taking longer than she expected, and that she was really sorry for keeping us waiting. She promised to be there when the singing session started though, confessing that she wanted to watch it.

But people started setting sound stuff up on the stage, the introducer stepping up onto the stage, and still no Bella. Alice sighed.

"Well, the only thing to do is sit, watch this and wait for her."

"Ladies and gentlemen," the introducer spoke into the mike. "Welcome to _Show us what you got_. In today's society, there are a diminishing number of kids with musical talent, or the inclination to obtain musical talent. We want to show society just how dedicated to this cause some kids are in this generation. If at any time you want to come up on the stage, our list is ready up front for you to sign-up. There is no limit to spaces, but I must say that we are closing by 10pm tonight.

"Now, without anymore further ado, please welcome our first guest. She goes by the weird and wonderful name of Boobez, and the song she'll be bringing to the stage is called _Real Wild Child_."

Boobez? Wow, that _**is**_ a weird name.

The lights were off, disguising the performer to us. A hand-held mike wasn't near her, so she obviously had a clip-on mike, due to the fact that she needed both hands to play her electric guitar, and I would agree with her if she said it would be awkward leaning to the side to sing into a hand-held mike.

The spotlights suddenly burst on as the girl sings the first line.

_I'm a real wild child_.

A guitar picked up from there, with a short burst of drums too. Everyone in our group had their jaws on the floor, because the girl was a fantastic singer, completely relaxed, and grinning the biggest smile ever, showing off her perfect teeth.

And we also had our jaws on the floor because of the fact that she, Boobez, was undeniably, unmistakably…Bella.

**Edward's POV**

From the moment the first lyric came out of her mouth, a subconscious part of me recognised the voice. Then my common sense rolled its eyes, telling me, _There is no way that Bella would do that, or could be able to sing like that._ Oh, in the name of all things holy, was I wrong. Isabella Marie Swan II grinned at me, showing off her perfectly straight and white teeth, and…_**winked**_. The muscles in my jaw had obviously forgotten how to work, because I could not move them an inch as I stared at her devilishly perfect attire: her stone-washed, straight-cut jeans encircled her luscious thighs, whilst loosening around her shins and covering most of beige leather, thick-high-heeled shoes; a yellow-and-black belt running around her touchable waist carrying a highly-appropriate warning for the police chief's daughter; "Police Line: Do Not Cross"; her very-short-sleeved, figure-hugging white shirt with a small rose on her left breast pocket, and some sort of logo on the other. As she turned around, I saw the shirt bore a large design on the back; in writing matching the red of four roses around it, were the words Kaporal 5, and above and below that were the words, in larger font and dark grey colouring, "Five Roses". Her mahogany hair fell in soft, large waves over her shoulders, its glossy texture catching the spotlight and reflecting it to blind me. As if I wasn't already blinded by the delicious angel on the stage.

She started singing a song that I wouldn't have thought suited her, but she pulled it off perfectly, the drums going silent and with her electric guitar almost humming quietly as her black synthetic fingerless-gloved hands moved along the strings.

_Well I'm just outta school_

_Like I'm real, real cool_

_Gotta dance like a fool_

_Got the message that I gotta be a wild one._

_Ooh, yeah, I'm a wild one._

_Gotta break it loose_

_Gonna keep 'em movin' wild_

_Gonna keep a-swingin' baby_

_I'm a real wild child._

The drums joined in with her now, along with some backing vocals that are obviously on some CD track or something, because the only people on the stage are her and the drummer, a young boy with brown hair and shockingly pale-blue eyes.

_Gonna meet all my friends_

_Gonna have ourselves a ball_

_Gonna tell my friends_

_Gonna tell them all that I'm a wild one_

_Ooh, yeah, I'm a wild one._

_Gotta break it loose_

_Gonna keep 'em movin' wild_

_Gonna keep a-swingin' baby_

_I'm a real wild child._

The drums and guitar increased in volume, and even though this wasn't my favourite genre, I still wanted to get up and dance around wildly.

_I'm a wild one._

_I'm a wild one_

_I'm a wild one._

_Ooh, baby, I'm a wild one._

_Gotta break it loose_

_Gonna keep 'em movin' wild_

_Gonna keep a-swingin' baby_

_I'm a real wild child._

_Oh, oh._

_I'm a real wild one,_

_And I like a wild fun_

_In a world gone crazy_

_Everything seems hazy._

_I'm a wild one._

_Ooh, yeah, I'm a wild one._

_Gotta break it loose_

_Gonna keep 'em movin' wild_

_Gonna keep a-swingin' baby_

_I'm a real wild child._

The volume went up again for the chorus.

_I'm a wild one._

_I'm a wild one._

_I'm a wild one._

_Ooh, baby, I'm a wild one._

_Gotta break it loose_

_Gonna keep 'em movin' wild_

_Gonna keep a-swingin' baby_

_I'm a real wild child._

_I'm a real wild child._

_I'm gonna break it loose_

_Gonna keep it wild_

_I'm a real wild child_

_I'm a wild one._

_I'm a wild one._

_I'm a wild one._

_Ooh, baby, I'm a wild one, ah._

_Gotta break it loose (Gotta break it loose)_

_Gonna keep it movin' wild now_

_Gonna keep it swingin' baby_

_Oh!_

_Real wild child, oh, oh._

We all cheered as she held the long note on, slowly descending in pitch perfectly.

_I'm a wild one, yeah, yeah, oh!_

_I'm a wild one, no, no, no, no, no! Oh, yeah_

_I'm a wild one. Oh, real wild, real wild one!_

_I'm a wild one._

_I'm a real wild child._

The silence apart from Bella's amazing voice was incredibly effective, and we all burst into applause, everyone at our table standing up and cheering her. Emmett looked over to me expectantly, but I had no idea what he was looking for, as his mind was blank from the wonder of what he'd just seen. He rolled his eyes at me.

"Well if you're not going to do it, I will…" His hands ceased clapping so he could put four fingers in his mouth and let out a huge wolf-whistle. Usually this would have made Bella blush fire-engine red, but her new outfit seemed to be feeding her confidence, as she sucked it right up, smiling in a sinful way, and…_**blew a kiss at me**_. Oh, God, I was really glad vampires couldn't faint, because I would have looked a complete fool if I had.

She high-fived the drummer, who she obviously knew (I'd have to ask her about that later), then left the electric guitar by its amp, and leapt off the stage to stride to our table. No one moved as we all stared at her, playing spot-the-difference with the memory of Before-Bella and attempting to match some of it to After-Bella. We weren't very successful.

Eventually, she looked at us expectantly. "Well? Isn't anyone gonna buy me a drink?"

I scrambled around in my pocket for my wallet, trying not to rip them in my haste, and started to hurry off to buy her the drink I knew she'd be after – mocha. But I thought of something, and rushed back to the table.

"Close your eyes," I told Nudge, Angel and Gazzy. Thankfully, they did so without question, and Angel smiled as she read what I was about to do. I grabbed Bella by the small of her back and just behind her neck, dipping her quickly, and smashed my lips to hers. She was shocked at first, but she caught my mood up fast – one piece of evidence that this was still the same girl that left my house this morning.

The cat-calls, wolf-whistles and "Go, Edward!"s continued for a few seconds after I picked her back up. I pecked her on the lips once more, unable to stop myself, and whispered in her ear. "I've never said this before because I did not grow up around this language. But I cannot deny right now; you look _**hot**_."

She smirked at me. "_**Thank**_ you, Mr Cullen." She pretended to sort out my collar – or at least I hope she was only pretending – then dismissed me with another peck.

I rushed up to the cashier, ordering Bella's mocha and waiting for it to be made. However, I turned my head back to my table when I heard a male voice call my love's name. Jealousy and irrational (surely it's irrational?) suspicion twisting my stomach, I watched as the drummer boy with the cute hair and shocking eyes walked to our table, holding his hand out. Bella's eyes lit up, making my heart clench, and she slapped her hand against his, bringing him down into an embrace like long-lost friends. Psh, friends? Like Jacob is Bella's friend? He'd better not try anything unless he wants mocha over his head. Speaking of which, the cashier handed me the mocha, and I paid for it, still keeping an eye on the newcomer to the table.

Carrying the mocha, I walked back over to the table, where my siblings were chatting and laughing with the boy. Traitors.

_Wow, baby _brother, Jasper's amused mind-voice reached me through my annoyance. _Paranoid much?_ My family and I had extracted certain phrases from human vocabulary to use for ourselves in irony, such as referring to ourselves as 'vegetarians'. I used one of them in a low voice to answer Jasper's thoughts, whilst I was still three paces from the table:

"Bite me."

Jasper coughed into his hand to mask a laugh.

Still suspicious of the newcomer, I tried to penetrate the drummer's head, to see if he was thinking anything about my Bella, but I almost froze where I was; I couldn't hear anything. At all. He was the only person like Bella that I had ever known. But I had to act normal, or the human might have thought there was something wrong with me.

I placed the mocha in front of Bella before sitting down. "Thank you, Edward." She leant forward to peck me on the lips again, but I held her mouth to mine to show the newcomer that my Bella was taken, had he "accidentally" missed seeing the binding on my love's left ring finger. I pulled her closer to me so she sat on my lap. Despite my previous display, I couldn't help but smile warmly at the boy; his mind was such a mystery, much like Bella's, that the similarity between them affected my subconscious judgement of him. His mind was so alike to Bella's that I couldn't be cold to him.

He returned the grin, not at all affected by my possessiveness, and raised his eyebrows. "This is the guy then, Bella?"

She giggled. "Yeah, I think he answered that question for you before you even asked it."

The boy joined in her laughter and stuck his hand out to me. "Hey, I'm Loyal Carter. I take it you're Edward Cullen. Bella and I have known each other since First Grade, so I decided to help her with this little fashion thing.

"Before you ask or get all possessive again, yes, I have crushed on her since then, but life went on in a way that prevented me from being with her like that. And I completely respect the 'first come, first serve' idea, so since you asked her first…" he gestured to me, "…she's yours."

Unable to do anything else, I simply stared at him, not quite believing that he would give up such a prize as the one sitting in my arms so easily. When his oh-so-pale eyes twinkled with amusement and sincerity, I realised that he meant every word and that he was still waiting for some kind of intellectual response.

"I…did…thank you," I stuttered. Emmett, Jasper and Bella burst out laughing, and Emmett clapped his hands together in applause for me.

"Smooth, Eddie, smooth," he gasped in between guffaws.

"Don't call me Eddie!" I snapped in response to my embarrassment. "I'm just not used to people saying that to me, that I can keep Bella as my own simply because I had the guts to ask her first."

"You didn't ask me first," Bella protested, attempting to look up at my face. "We told each other at the same time in the meadow."

"But I said something about my feelings first before you admitted to feeling the same," I corrected, "so that counts as me asking you first, because you would not have said anything about it had I not confessed first."

"'Confessed', eh?" she joked, analysing my choice of language. "Am I a sin now?"

Raising an eyebrow, I gestured to her clothing. "Wearing such things as these, I should think so." I winked at her.

We all laughed, the ones who had drinks raising them to each other. Emmett pretended to have one – a beer, to be precise – toasting then mimicking throwing it down his insanely huge mouth. Esme scolded him for "being a bad influence to the children". After calming down from the storm of snickering that caused, we turned towards the stage again to continue watching the concert.

**Alright, there it is. Hope you enjoyed it. I know Bella's a bit OOC, but there's a reason for it that will come later in the story. Just bear with me. Hope you've enjoyed it. Review if you think it's worth it, please.**

**Fly on,**

**NitnatRide**


End file.
